Jr Agent Richard Castle, FBI
by TheBlackHand724
Summary: Sequel to Of Officers and Agents. Some Jr. Agents do nothing their first week and some agents solve 6 cases, get in to 3 shoot outs, and 4 medals for outstanding service. which kind of week do you think Jr. Agent Richard Castle had? add in the team from White Collar upstairs and you have some real fun. Takes place two days after the other story. read that one first! Cashaw UNBETAED
1. Chapter 1

AN: I was writing something else when I get a great review on Of Officers and Agents about three weeks ago. For some reason it got me writing this. It's the sequel to that story and I think it's the best thing I've ever written. This story covers Rick's first week as a Fed, and as you can by word count it's a big week. As you can see by the end I'm already coming up with stuff for the next installment. Please Review, as you can see one good review is enough fuel to get the brain working. Maybe one of your review can get the next story going. TBH

Not Mine! I think that should do it.

A shot rang out in the dark as he chased the killer into the tunnel. He didn't know why he followed the predator this far into his lair but at this point the had no choice but to keep following. As he ran deeper into the underground cave system that made up the old subway tunnels of the 6 train he thought about the three women this guy killed already and the two more he still had stashed somewhere down here. Another shot rang out and this one pinged off the wall next to his head. He was getting luckier with those blind shots every time he popped one off. One of them was going to find it's mark. Having been shot before he was not looking forward to getting shot again but he needed to keep going. He needed to catch this guy. He needed to stop him. Bang! This shot sounded closer but he still couldn't see him good enough in the dark to get a clean shot off. He didn't want to kill the guy. If he did he'd also be killing the two girls. There was no way they would find the girls if he didn't tell them where he hid them. Bang! And he felt the sting of the bullet as it hit his leg sending him to the ground. As he fell he dropped his flashlight, but held onto his gun. The light hit the floor a second before he did, spinning around on the ground throwing light around the tunnel like a light house before coming to a stop pointing to him laying on the ground ten feet away. The killer, having heard him hit the ground stopped running, and turned around. Seeing him on the ground the killer smiled a nasty smile. "Did I get you Fed?" He asked in a sickeningly sweet voice. The same voice he used to leave the message on his voicemail. It was a grating voice and the killer knew it. It was the reason he used it.

"I think you did." He said groaning at the pain in his leg.

"And you dropped your light?" The killer asked walking back to his fallen pursuer.

"My gun too." He said laughing.

The killer laughed too. "Isn't that just the pits! You're stumbling around in the dark and now you don't have any toys at all."

"Tell me about it. You wouldn't happen to have an extra gun would you?" He asked looking up at the man who brutally raped and murder three young girls.

"Sorry Fed, I just have the one." The killer said holding out the silver revolver.

"So this is how it ends?" He asked looking up at the killer.

"This is it." The killer said.

"Then I only have one question for you…. Do you like the book Jordan?"

Jordan looked up from her book when a shadow fell over her. Rick was standing next to her lounge chair dressed in board shorts and a t-shirt with 'FBI: Female Body Inspector' on it. In one hand he was holding a pair of grill tongs and in the other he was holding a frosty bottle of beer with a lime wedge sticking out of the top. "Do you? I have to give James an answer soon before he goes to print with it." Rick asked.

"It's good. A little predictable, and Alex Cross get's away with a lot of things real FBI agents don't get away with. A big one is chasing a killer into a place like this." Jordan said rolling her eyes.

"True but this is fiction Jordan. You have to let your character get away with a few things to make the story flow. So what do you think? Are there any big glaring mistakes?" Rick asked tapping on the book with his tongs.

"No, not really. I'd go back and have a look at the section where he figures out the killers identity by looking at the post mark on the letters. You can't do that, there are hundreds of people living in a postal district. You can't find a killer with just that information." Jordan said shrugging.

"Aside from that, no changes?" He asked nodding.

"Not that I can see. Patterson is really good at mapping out plot." She said.

"Not really. He starts writing and when he hit's a wall he brings his problems to the monthly poker game. That reminds me, you're invited to the poker game next month.

"A group of the best mystery novelists invited me to play?" Jordan asked.

"Well invited is not really the word I'm looking for. Demanded that you play so they can pick your brain is more like it. They want you to help talk out their book problems with them." He said smirking.

"That's so cool." Jordan said smiling. "Did Beckett ever join the game?" She asked.

"Never and they never asked but the second I told Patterson who was staying at the beach house he lit up like a Christmas tree. Next thing you know he's asking if you would read the book and telling me to get you to the game next month." Rick said shrugging.

"Well I'm kind of honored." Jordan said.

"You shouldn't be. All we do is sit around and complain about fictional characters. You'll get tired of it really fast, I know I did once I was out there doing the job in the real world. Thanks for looking that over for me. I'll tell him you liked it but the solve is too fake. Aside from that I came over here because you look like you could use a refill." He said pointing to the empty sitting next to her on the table.

"I think I'm due a fresh one for all the work I put in." She said smiling.

"What do I get for bringing you this icey cold drink on this hot summer day?" he asked holding the bottle just out of her reach.

"How about I give you this empty bottle and a kiss? Will that work?" She asked with a sexy smile, before dropping the book so he could get a good look at her in her bikini top.

"Um… yeah, that's, that's good I guess." He said getting caught in a loop of looking down at her chest and back up to her face.

"Well, are you going to bring it closer or are you going to make me get up?" She asked licking her lips.

Rick bent over to kiss her and lost his footing, landing him on top of Jordan with his face in her chest. He lifted his head and smirked. "It was not my intention to end up like this but you can't fault fate for putting me here." He said before kissing her. That kiss lead to more kissing and lead to some heavy groping. When her hand made it's way inside his shorts he popped up off her. "The girls could be watching." He said looking around for the plotting twosome.

"They made their way down the beach to look at boys. They won't be back for a while.

"I have to go check on the meat." Rick said panicking.

"The meat looks just fine." Jordan said in a sexy voice as she looked at his shorts.

"But I…" Rick said looking for something.

"But what? What's wrong? We've been sharing a bed for two nights now and the most we've done is some heavy touching. What's wrong? Is it me?" She asked looking at him worried.

"What? NO! It's not you at all. It's just. I used to be fast with the women. You know? Meet a girl and get her in bad as fast as I could. The relationship never lasted for very long and it ended up hurting me in the end because I got a reputation. After that no good woman wanted to even talk to me so I stopped fooling around all together. Sure I went on dates still. If you don't then the papers start writing gay roomers. But I haven't, you know, in a while." He said looking red and pale at the same time.

"Really?" Jordan asked.

"Really." Rick said.

"How long has it been?" Jordan asked.

"Six months after my divorce…. six years ago." Rick said feeling funny telling her.

"Six! My god. I mean, it's been about two years for me but Six. I don't know what I would have done if I went six years without, and I'm not a very active person." She said shocked.

"So, I'm a bit nervous about being good, you know, for you." He said blushing. "And the fact that the girls are down the hall is not helping at all let me tell you. I just keep picturing them walking in and seeing…. Everything." He said looking green.

"Oh Rick. We don't have to do anything right now. We can wait until we get back to the city. We'll send the girls to a friend's house. We'll lock the doors and shut off our phones and just relax into things. I'm not looking for you're A game Castle. I'm not expecting much of anything out of this but to be happy, and being with you. Laying like this. This make's me really happy." She said kissing him.

"I can make you happy, that's for sure." He said tossing the book and the tongs onto the table before attacking her mouth again. They made out like horny teenagers for the next ten minutes until they were interrupted.

"Dad! You're burning the steaks!" Alexis called out from the grill.

"I told you!" Rick said smirking as he sat up.

"Okay so you're right this time. They would have come back in the middle of something, but I'm telling you now, next week you're mine Rick." She said kissing him and pinching his ass before pushing him off her. "Now go finish dinner." She said laughing.

"Oh is that how it's going to be form now on?" Rick asked picking up the tongs. "You're going to call the shots? I think not. I think I'm just going to have to surprise you." He said walking away.

Kelly strolled up to her mother with a smirk on her face. "Is Rick my new Daddy now?" She said through a big smile.

"Not yet brat, but I'm working on it. You couldn't have left us alone for a little bit longer?" Jordan said laughing as she pulled her daughter down to sit with her.

"I was hungry and so was Alexis. Boy watching is hard work you know." Kelly said giggling.

"That's fine as long as you're just watching and not touching. No one got fresh with you two did they?" Jordan asked shaking her head.

"Oh mom, relax. Alexis is older and she's way more protective of me then even you are. It's sweet. We're totally sisters." Kelly said laying her head on her mothers shoulder.

"Good. I like the fact that you two are getting closer. You can look out for each other." Jordan said running her finger through Kelly's red hair.

"SO are you and Rick totally getting it on?" She asked giggling.

"It's none of your business." Jordan said indignantly. "That reminds me, get together with your evil twin and make plans to stay at a friend's house for a few days next week." Jordan said.

"Hey you two, the foods done!" Rick called out.

The group sat around the table on the deck and had a nice dinner. They talked about nothing and everything. It was chatter more then anything and Rick and Jordan loved every minute of it. It was like the last two days, but something about this night felt different. It felt better. Easier. Like things clicking into place.

Later that evening the girls sat by the fire pit on the beach and talked while Rick and Jordan worked on the car in the big garage. Jordan sat behind the wheel of the Cobra and watched as Rick bolted down the last few bolts on the carburetor. "I've got to tell you Rick seeing you get your hands dirty is really doing something for me."

"You think this is exciting?" He asked turning to look at her as her torque wrenched the last bolt into place. "Turn the key and see how that make's you feel." He said with a big smile.

Jordan turned the key and the big V8 cranked over a few times before roaring to life making the little sports car shake. "My God that sounds great." she said revving the engine.

"That, right there, is the sound of 780 Horse Power." Rick said dropping the hood and wiping it down with a shop rag.

"No, that's the sound of an angry God of Thunder." She said running her hand over the wood steering wheel.

"You are defiantly my kind of woman Jordan. You understand what is good in life." He said crouching down next to her.

"All that's missing is an AC/DC CD and a long winding road." She said with a big smile.

"Press the panel in the center of the dash." Rick said smirking. She did and the panel dropped down reveling a stereo. "Track three." He said. She hit the power button and skipped to track three and Thunderstruck came blaring out of the six Bose speakers hidden in the small car.

"This might be the greatest car ever." She yelled over the noise as she nodded along to the beat.

"I'm not even done yet. I have red and black skull graphics coming in the mail still." He said coming around to the other side of the car. "You want to take her around the block?" He asked pulling black leather driving gloves out of the glove box.

"Hell yes I do." She said.

The girls came running up to them. "You guys have to cut that off!" Alexis said. "The neighbors are going to call the cops!"

"SO? We're Feds!" Jordan said pulling her badge out of her small bag.

"Yeah, we're Fed's." Rick said pulling his badge out of his pocket with a huge smile. "Now watch your sister, we're going for a ride!" He said and Jordan threw the car into first and peeled out of the garage shooting gravel and singing along to the music.

"Well it's safe to say two things." Alexis said turning to Kelly. "One, they are most defiantly going to get pulled over, and two, it's probably going to be at make out point up the beach." she said before laughing.

Jordan pushed the car up to a hundred as she turned out of the beach front road and onto the four lane black top of the boulevard heading up the beach. As the sound of her youth came pumping through the stereo and the monster under the hood roared a steady war cry she felt more alive then she had in years. "Having fun?" Rick asked with a huge smile on his face.

"Hell yes I am." She said as the song faded out and piano cords hit. "Is this Journey, Faithfully? I love this song! What CD is this?" she asked.

"It's a mix me and Alexis made. Take this left up here and pull into the lot on the right." He said smiling. "We said we were going to take the beast out on a road trip when we got her fixed up." he said as they pulled into a lot at the top of a hill over looking the beach front houses below. "Care to dance?" He asked getting out.

"You know I do." She said jumping out.

Rick pulled her to him and swayed with the song. "I love you, you know?" Rick said softly.

"I love you too. I think I have for a while now." She said looking up at him.

"I know it's not cool to say it these days but I think we're both over the whole dating thing. I know, I am. I just want this. You know?" He said.

"I know what you mean. I miss being married. I don't miss my ex-husband but I miss coming home to a man. To love." She said laying her head on his shoulder.

"I tried so hard to make every marriage work, and then I put so much time into…. Her. I feel raw inside. Now I just want to know I'm with someone that loves me back." He said kissing her. One kiss lead to two, which lead to Jordan sitting in Rick's lap in the passenger sit of the car with her top off and his shorts pulled down when he stopped her. "Wait.

"What now Rick?" She asked in frustration.

"Protection?" He asked trying to get to his wallet in his short on the floor.

"I'm on the pill." She said triumphantly.

"Oh thank God!" He groaned as the Outfield's Use Your Love faded up they made love for the first time.

One hour and three rounds later they pulled into the driveway rumpled and glowing. Alexis and Kelly took one look at them and laughed before turning back to the movie they were watching. Rick got out of the car and hobbled over to the passenger side to help her out of the car. "What happened to your leg Rick?" Jordan asked as she tried to fix her beach wrap around her waist.

"I think I pulled a muscle in my leg that third go around." He said wincing and smiling at the same time.

"Oh you poor dear. I think I'm going to have to draw you a bath and help you fix it." She said smiling.

"I think you should. I have no idea where any of that came from, but I think we need to do it again, soon." He said with a big dumb smile on his face.

The next morning Alexis was the first person to get up. She made her way down to the kitchen and started the coffee. Kelly stumbled into the kitchen and plopped down on the counter to watch Alexis make pancakes. "Hey sis. I'm thinking breakfast in bed. Can you go get the paper. It should be out front." Alexis said mixing the bowl of batter.

"Sure, then I'll help you cook." She said running out the door to get the paper. "Alexis!" She yelled running back inside the house with the Tuesday Ledger in her hands.

"What?!" Alexis asked running to met her in the front hall.

"Look. They took shots of Mom and Rick. And look at the headline. Mom's defiantly not going to like this." She said pointing to the banner that read: "Sleeping you're way to the top?" under it were shots of Rick and Jordan on the lounge chair from yesterday.

"Maybe it's not that bad." Alexis said taking the paper from Kelly to read it. "Let's see. "Famous author caught locking lips with his boss Special Agent Jordan Shaw, FBI. Is this how the author got his job? Sources say the two have been spotted around town for the last two weeks leading up to the announcement of his new job as an FBI profiler. The story get's even more tawdry when looking into Castles past with NYPD detective Katharine Beckett, the inspiration for Niki Heat. Is this the second time the author slept his way into Law enforcement? And if it is then what does that say about his qualifications as an Law Enforcement Officer? Is his entry into the country's top law enforcement branch even legitimate or is this a stunt to sell more books. We tried to reach Richard Castle for a comment, but he refused to answer us. If a Famous author can sleep his way into a job as an FBI agent, then what does that say about the FBI's standards?" She read out loud. "No, you're right, it's so much worse then I first thought.

Ten minutes later and Rick finished reading the article out laud from his place next to Jordan in bed as the girls looked on in fright. "Well, this is about as bad as it gets." Rick said looking green.

Jordan reached over for her phone and it rang. She saw Tim Hearting on her phone and cringed. "No this is as bad as it gets." She said before answering the Phone. The other three only heard one side of the conversation but it was enough. "No Tim I didn't know we were being watched…. No Tim the papers are spinning this all wrong…. No, I am in a relationship with Jr. Agent Castle…. I did not submit the 1049 form…. He has yet to work a real day Tim!…. No we can't fire him and sweep it under a rug!… No I was not taking a tone with you, but I think it's crazy to think I would give my boyfriend a job without him having any skills…. I have a full report on him sitting on my desk right now Tim, I'm sure Avery can bring it up to you right now…. I assure you he's more then qualified for the job…. No I'm not just saying that Tim! How dare you! I have Ken's full support in this matter!….do you think I would be that stupid to jeopardize my career for sex?… How long have you known me Tim? Who helped you through your divorce? Who helped you with your daughter?…. That's right Tim, so for you to call me and ask me a dumb ass questions like this is just plan crazy, I'm the best damn agent working in that building and you want to question my loyalties?…. You know what Tim? Call OPR, and see if I care. They'll just tell you the same thing I'm telling you right now. He's more qualified for the job then half the Agents we get out of Quantico….. Fine hold on." She said putting the phone down. "How long will it take to get back to the office from here?" She asked.

"I can have a chopper take you to the Manhattan Hela-pad in a half an hour. Then It's just a matter of traffic." Rick said picking up his phone.

"I can have him land on the roof of the building." She said before picking up her phone again. "Call OPR and set the meeting. I'll be there in an hour. Have Burke meet me on the pad. He will act as my council." She said hanging up. She took a deep cleansing breath and let it out slowly. "Okay, things are bad, but they're not life and death." She said getting out of bed and rushing into the bathroom. "Kelly get me some under clothes." She said turning on the shower. "They're going to have an OPR, or Office of Professional Responsibility meeting to determine if I hired Rick without checking his skills." She said over the sound or the shower.

"Jordan, the helicopter will meet us at the top of the hill." He said pulling on a pair of Jeans. "Should I go with you, or get my lawyer to go with you?" he asked.

"No. Lawyers are not allowed in an ORP meeting. I have Special agent Peter Burke as my council. He's been in a half dozen of these meetings and I've sat as his council before so he owes me. As for you, I'm sorry but right now you'll only make things worse. What can you say? 'No, I didn't enter into a relationship with her at the same time I had a falling out with Detective Beckett, and all while she was hiring me to be on her team without a passing grade from Quantico.'" She said walking out of the bathroom in her underwear. She grabbed and pair of Jeans from her bag. "No, your time will come when your first test scores come back. Then I can take them upstairs and rub them in Tim's face. Then he can't tell me a god damn thing. In fact he'll have to apologize to me and you. Your job is to get back to the city today with the girls. I want you to be ready for anything tomorrow. It's the second Wednesday of the month. That's skills testing day. They will sure as shit make you go tomorrow instead of the fourth Wednesday of the month, and you'll need to score very high the week after that on the Theory test. Get the kids packed up and get them home. We'll crash at you're place tonight so I can prep you on what's going to happen tomorrow." She said pulling on a t-shirt. "I'll have Avery get the files from my office and my extra suite from my locker." She said packing her bag.

"Just get going, we'll cover this and get ready to go." Alexis said turning Jordan to the door and pushing her.

"Yeah mom, we got this. Just get going." She said walking up to her with her hand bag.

"Thanks kids, sorry to cut the trip short." She said hugging the two of them.

Rick called from outside. He hopped into his Cobra and revved the engine. Jordan ran out and hopped into the car. Rick hit the gas and they were off. Jordan pulled out her phone. "Avery,…. Yeah I heard, I'm coming by helicopter, I'll be there in about a half hour. Get the file on my desk marked Castle and get it to Burke, by now he should have gotten the call from Hearting. Have Moss get my suite from the locker room. SHIT! I just forgot I don't have a suite in the locker room. I'll figure something out and call you back. Have Burke call me as soon as he reads the file." She said hanging up. She turned to Rick and saw his iPhone in front of her face. "What's this?" She asked taking the phone.

"My stylist. Tell her your sizes." He said blasting up the road.

"Thank you so much." She said kissing his cheek "Hello?… I'm a size six… no under clothes won't be necessary… shoes, yes I'll need those… size 8. No I don't need anything else, thank you." she said hanging up. "You are a life saver Rick." she said putting his phone in his pocket.

"It's the lest I can do for getting you in trouble." He said.

"You didn't do a damn thing. It's my fault, I should have filled out the 1049 form. If I would have just remembered the form they wouldn't be able to do anything." She said angrily.

"What's a 1049?" Rick asked.

"Some people call it the banging form, it's real title is the fraternization form. It basically states two agents are seeing each other and if the relationship goes south one has to move out of the office. It also says we have three strikes and then one of us will get fired, in this case, you. If we are caught doing anything wrong in the office, if we're caught fooling around in the break room, if we have a big ass fight in the bullpen. Anything like that, we'll get reported to the Boss and he'll give us a strike. Three of those and you're out." She said rubbing her head.

"So no office nooky? What's the point?" He said, but he got serious. "Look Jordan, as much as I'd like to fool around with you on your desk, I'm not going to. You granted me a great honor by brining me in to the fold and I'm not going to mess it up. I can be just as professional as those Harvard boys. I went to the same schools they did and I can walk the walk if I have to but I'd like to keep my personality in tact. If you tell me to button up and act the part then I can, but if not I'm going to come in that office and be me. I'll win the haters over with my skills and if I can't win them over I'll push them out. I'll solve every case they get before they have a chance to read the file because I've got something they don't have. Field experience. I've walked more crime scenes then any of them, and that first hand knowledge is invaluable. I'm not going to let you down Jordan. You have my word." He said taking her hand.

"I know, that's why I have a shot at getting this to all blow over. I need you to do so good tomorrow that they look stupid for calling us in. I want to embarrass them. You're my ringer Rick." She said as a black helicopter flew by over head. "If I could, I'd make you a full agent today. As it is you might end up as a floater for a few months as a punishment to the both of us." She said.

"Floater? That does not sound good at all."

"It means you're not assigned to any one department. You have no desk and you work out of a break room on the fifth floor with the rest of the reject Jr. agents. If any department get's swamped we have to call in some floaters to help. It's the lowest of the low for agents. But if you do go into the floater pool you'll be out in no time, you're too good for the pool. Every department you work for will put you on the request list. Once that happens a bunch of times, or you test really high, you'll get sent up to my department." She said as they pulled into the lot. Jordan got out and ran around to his side. "Get the girls back home safe and I'll tell you how the meeting went as soon as I can." She said kissing him before she ran over to the chopper sitting on the pad. As soon as the chopper lifted she got a call from Burke. "How's it going Burke, my day has been total crap." She said.

"Mine is shaping up to be a real fun day as well. I've looked over the file and I can see nothing wrong with it. In fact if you can't have him in your office I'll take him." He said sitting back in his chair.

"You wish, I found him first. Wait until you see his scores tomorrow. It's going to make Tim look like a fool." She said smirking.

"Really? He's that good?" Burke asked.

"You have no idea. He was being used by a cop working homicide. Without him her arrest record was seventy-five percent. With him it was nearly flawless. He builds theory like no one else, and his eye for detail is up there with Caffrey's. and just like your CI, if this guy had ended up on the wrong side of the law he would have been dangerous." She said.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were in love Shaw." He said.

"For your information I am." She said.

"Well then how can I take anything you say as fact?" He asked coldly. "How do I know you're not blinded by this guy's charms? How can you be sure?" He asked.

"How dare you question me like that Burke, I thought you were on my side?" She asked hurt.

"I am." He said going back to his normal voice. "I'm just prepping you for what's to come. You have to remember you're still a woman Jordan. You know how the higher ups still treat women. You got passed up how many times before they had to make you head Profiler? You're going to be fighting an up hill battle Shaw. You picked the one guy to fall for that might cost you your job title. I need you to think about that. Really think about it and then answer me, are you sure?" He asked.

"I am. On all fronts. We're coming together perfectly and he's been in just as many shitty relationships as I have, and our kids are totally bonded. As for his skills I can only tell you the same thing I'm going to say in the meeting. Wait until tomorrow, and you'll all be eating crow." she said.

"Then as your council that's what I'm going to advise you to say. If you honestly think he can do it then bet on him. Offer up his spot on your floor for the floater pool if he under performs tomorrow. It's the only way to prove you have absolute confidence in him. Worst case, he ends up on the fifth floor for a few months. I'm sure he'll make it out. In fact he might think about go to the fifth floor no matter how he does tomorrow. It will take some of the heat off of you and it will let him earn his spot." He said.

"You just want some more talent on your team. I'll make you a deal, if things are slow in the office and you really need him you can have him for the day as a floater, but it means you agree to mentor him too." She said with a smirk.

"Damn you Shaw, now I'm going to have to stick my neck out for this guy and I've never even met him. He better be worth it." He said shaking his head.

"He is. Now is Diana doing anything right now?" She asked.

"She's out right now, why?" He asked.

"Then have Caffrey go down to the lobby, and wait for someone to deliver a package for me. Tell him to say he's my assistant. Rick had his stylist pull a suite for me. It should be there soon. I told her it was a rush. Have him look it over and make sure it will fit me." She said.

"And how will he know that?" Burke asked.

"Because it's one of his talents. Just do it Burke, and I'll make sure Elle gets something from the same place for her birthday at the end of the month." She said.

Peter winced when her remembered the last time he forgot her birthday. "Deal. I'll meet you in, what? Fifteen?"

"Sounds about right." She said hanging up.

"Caffrey!" He called out.

"You need something Peter?" Neal asked from the doorway.

"Yes, you know about the OPR Meeting in a half hour?" He asked.

"I heard from Diana. Is it bad?" He asked dropping into a seat in front of Peter's desk.

"Yes and no, she's having some clothes sent over and she asked if you could go down and collect them. She said make sure they'll fit her and that nothing's missing." Peter said.

"On it Peter." Neal said hopping up to go do it.

"Wait, before you go, look at this file and tell me what you think." He said handing over the Castle file.

"This is the guy?" Neal asked.

"He is." Peter said.

"Wow." Neal said looking the file over. "This guy reads like a super star. I wonder why they're having an OPR meeting over this?" Neal asked.

"Because the article made Jordan look like a fool and as an extension, the office took a hit. If Jordan was a guy this would not be happening. As it is, the best we can do is hope the guy is good enough to not make it into the pool." Peter said.

"The pool? Really? This guy?" Neal asked.

"He might fold under the pressure during the tests tomorrow. If he does he goes into the pool."

"Yekes!" Neal said walking out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Jordan looked out the window as the FBI building got closer and closer. Finally they landed and she jumped out. She saw Burke and Caffrey standing on the roof by the door, and ran over to them. "How are we doing for time?" She asked as they went inside.

"Meeting starts in ten minutes. You can use the bathroom on this floor to change." Peter said.

Neal handed her the garment bag and shoe box. "This looks like it was made for this kind of meeting. If I had to face these two I'd get something similar." He said.

"Thanks." She said. "Who's the OPR agent?" She asked.

"Jimmy down in parking said his name was Sam Rooker." Neal said.

"Sam 'The Hammer' Rooker?" Peter asked looking pale.

"Then I have a plan." Jordan said taking the items into the bathroom.

"The Hammer?" Neal asked looking at Peter like he was making it up.

"I'm not joking. He's a psycho. He works out of the OPR office here in the city but teaches ethics at Quantico every year. In OPR he tends to crack down on any infraction no matter how small. Jordan's going to lose her job." Peter said sadly.

"Can't you do something? Speak on her behalf?" Neal asked.

"Noooo! The Hammer hates me. Gave me a D in his class for not catching a lie in a mock questioning. I had to take the class again here in New York." Peter said looking a little green.

"Bad memories?" Neal asked.

"So bad. I can't even show my face in the room. Tim knew that. It must be why he picked him." Peter said pacing back and fort.

"So she has to go in there alone?" Neal asked.

"It's the only way she has a shot." Peter said looking at his watch. When he looked up Jordan walked out of the bathroom and stopped him dead in his tracks. "Now that's one way of going at this." He muttered.

Jordan was dressed in a black Armani jacket, red shirt and a black skirt just short enough to show off some leg but long enough to be tasteful. The shoes were black stilettos with a bit of a platform and a six inch red heel. "I feel, sexy, and powerful. How do I look?" She asked pulling her hair up into a tight bun at the back of her head.

"Sexy, and powerful." Neal said eyeing her up just a little too closely.

"Eyes up Caffrey, or you'll lose them." She said stalking down the hall with a swing to her hips.

"She is defiantly going to get fired, or she's really going to make them regret this meeting." Neal said watching her walk away.

"You have no idea. Go back to the office, and wait for me." Peter said following her down the hall to the Director's office. He saw her standing in the outer office waiting to be called into the conference room across the hall. "Remember. Nothing they say can rattle you. If they rattle you then they have you on the ropes, and you both might lose your jobs." Burke said.

"I know what I'm doing Burke. Hand me the file. I have a plan, and stay out here or The Hammer might get you fired for breathing wrong." She said.

"You don't have to tell me twice. I think I might need new underwear just standing in the hall." He said sweating.

In the conference room Tim Hearting sat at one end of the table with a tall angry looking man. When Jordan walked in he stood to greet her but she ignored him. "Lets cut the crap Tim. This meeting is bullshit and you know it. This is the file with everything we could find regarding Richard Castle." She said tossing the file on the table and Rooker picked it up. "As you can see the applicant is highly qualified and comes with a recommendation for the Captain of the twelfth precinct. He has two plus years of experience working murder cases. He stopped his own murder from happening, and in the process made three arrests. All without carrying a gun. I would put the applicant against any Jr. agent in the building right now. Lets really get down to the brass tacks people. I'm in here on my day off because I forgot to file some paperwork. If the 1049 was on file you would have zero grounds for calling me in here. So lets talk about why I'm standing here instead of on a beach in Montok." She said confidently.

"And why do you think you're standing in this office?" The Hammer asked in a cold deep voice.

"Because I'm a woman and Tim's pride got hurt because of an article in a paper. If I was a man and the applicant was a woman this conversation wouldn't even be happening. You would back date the form using directors discretion and release a press statement. Instead I get a phone call form the director telling me this might cost me my job. Well let me tell you something Tim, I might not have a penis but I sure as hell have balls. You've made an enemy today, and before you go scoffing it off let me ask you this: How many times was I passed over for promotion to the head of my division? We were in the same class, how did you end up in the big chair before me with not even half the arrests I have? How many men did you promote before you were forced to give me the job once you had the big chair? How many Tim? And we were friends. We came up form Virginia together. We worked the same cases for how long?" She asked.

Tim looked like he was going to say something but then he stopped himself. "What's the point of this speech Jordan?" Tim asked feeling a hell of a lot worse now then he did ten minutes ago.

"The point, Tim. Is that I'm more famous then you. I have more arrests then you and if I walked out of this room today and called for a press conference reporters would show up. Especially now that the Ledger is running that article. All I have to do is tell them about the bullshit double standards that you use to run this Field Office and you'd be out on your ass so fast your chair would still be hot when I took your place as Director." She said giving him a cold stare. "So lets not threaten each other ever again Tim because the only thing stopping me from ousting your ass is the fact that I don't want your little girl to go hungry, because lets face facts Tim, you're barely qualified to do the job you have, where the hell would you go if you got canned form the FBI?" She asked making Tim sit back in his seat and lower his head. "Good, that's the way I like to see you Tim, afraid and weak. It fits you better. So lets talk about this incident like the smart, professionals Agents that we are. Agent Castle will come in tomorrow and take the tests, if his scores are below average then you can drop him into the pool with the rest of the shitty agency rejects. If, however, he performs above average like his file says he has the potential to? Then you will back date a 1049 and make the God Damn press release like you should have this morning!" She said slamming her hand on the table and making both men jump.

"Director Hearting, leave the room." Rooker said.

"Excuse me?" Tim asked looking confused.

"Leave the room Tim, right now and you better pray I don't look into those allegations she just laid at your feet." Rooker said raising an eyebrow. "And take Burke with you. Before I re-open the case against his CI."

Tim shot out of his chair and pulled Peter out of the outer office. "You know you should be running this place right?" Rooker said turning to Jordan.

"I know, but I like the hunt too much Uncle Sam." She said coming around the table to hug him. "How is Aunt Betty? She still putting up with you?" She asked with a big smile.

"She's still putting up with me." Sam said matching her smile. "She wanted me to tell you to stop by the house on Sunday for dinner. You know how she is." He said shaking his head. "Now you stalled enough, what did you do?" he asked.

"Nothing really. I forgot to file a stupid form. The one time in my life I forgot the paperwork and comes back to bite me in the ass." She said dropping into the chair at the head of the table.

"It's more then that Kid. Your in big trouble with this Jr. Agent Castle. Is he using you to get a job here?" He asked.

"No, if anything I'm using him to get my life back together. I pulled him out of a bad situation and gave him a shot. He's a good man, and he has the potential to be a great Agent." Jordan said.

"But you know what people will say if he works under you, right?" He asked.

"The same crap they put in the paper." She said looking at her hands.

"You could fix all of this by doing two simple things, and you know what they are." he said patting her on the shoulder.

"Assign him to Ken, my old boss and put Jenifer Moss in charge of his testing." She said resting her chin on her fist.

"Or put him into the pool. The pool is not so bad you know? Some of the best agents started out in the pool, including me. You toss him in the pool for a few months and he makes his way to the top. From what the file says he's good, and cream always rises to the top." He said.

"I'll assign him to Ken until he retires next year. It will be good for him. Ken has a light case load and he can teach Rick the most. He taught me after all and I'm the best." She said smiling. "I'll also make him available as a floater on light days."

"You know one day people are going to find out just how devious you really are." He said looking down at her sitting in the big chair.

"And one day people are going to find out you're not Hitler." She said patting his hand.

"Oh no, they can't find that out. I like it when people fear me." He said giving her his angry eyes stare.

"Speaking of fear are you ever going to stop scaring Peter Burke? He's a good friend of mine and I'd like to be able to tell him the truth about us one day." She asked.

"Is he still jeopardizing his career for a convict?" He asked.

"He is, but that will never change. He treats Neal like a son and so does his wife. One day, something bad is going to happen to Neal and he'll straighten out his life, until then it's just a lost cause." She said smiling a sad smile.

"So can I stop by tomorrow and meet your guy before I have to see him Sunday and the magic is broken by a family dinner?" He asked.

"Are you really asking me if you can scare Rick on his first day, and during a test that will determine where he'll be placed?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

"Okay fine I won't rattle the boy but if he ever hurts you I'll have him bounced out of the agency so fast he'll never even know what hit him." He said hugging her again.

"I love you too Uncle Sam." She said. "Now lets make it look good for the spectators." She said standing tall and pushing her shoulder back. "You ready?" She asked.

"Kid, I've been playing the hard ass long before you ever thought about being an agent." He said winking at her. He pushed open the door and they saw Tim Hearting and Peter Burk standing in the outer hallway. "That's how it has to be or I'll transfer this Agent Castle to the L.A. field office. I don't like rule breakers Agent Shaw, and I really don't like being talked down to. That might fly with little Timmy Hearting over there but it's not going to fly with me. OPR is a place for respect, and you will respect the office." He said.

"Fine, but you had better uphold your end of the deal or you'll be standing next to Hearting at the press conference." She said shaking his hand before he left. She turned to Burke and Hearting and shot them both a dirty look. Tim looked like he was going to say something but Jordan shot a look back at him that said if he even spoke one more word to her that day she would be sitting in his big office. "As of tomorrow agent Castle will be assigned to Ken Carpenter and Special agent Moss will take over his testing to ensure a fair and unbiased playing field." She mocked out. "Sure it's fare alright, the bitch will probably give him the worst of the worst tests she can throw at him and then try to fuck him because she knows he's spoken for. God Damned evil bitch!" She yelled. "And I'm taking my SUV home because I had to come here on a FUCKING helicopter For this stupid meeting! I swear, if you don't send out the press release tomorrow I'll be sitting in your chair by the end of the day!" She said poking Hearting in his chest with her finger to accent every word before turning on her heels and marching to the elevator. "Burke on me!" She barked. And Peter ran after her. Once the elevator doors closed she started laughing. "Now that was worth coming home early for!" She said hugging Peter. "I got everything I wanted and I didn't have to play defense at all. Sucker!" She said ecstatic.

"But The Hammer?" Peter asked looking shocked.

"Did I mention that I'm the only one to ever get an A+ in his class?" She asked looking shocked for a second before she lost it again as the doors opened on the twenty-first floor and Neal was standing in the hallway waiting. 

"So how did it go?" He asked.

"Better then you would think. Rick stays in my department, under Ken, my old teacher. The down side is Moss is going to be picking the tests so you have to figure she's going to throw everything she can at him." She said walking into Peters office with the boys following her. She drooped into the chair in front of his desk and put her feet up. "I'm hungry, did you two eat lunch yet?" She asked.

"No, and we won't be thinking about ordering from somewhere for another few hours. It's only ten." Peter said sitting at his desk.

"Really? I had quite the adventure so far this morning. I think I'll head down to my office and talk to Ken. Get him ready for Rick." She said standing up.

Ken Carpenter was the very definition of the word Grandfather. At 65 years old he had six grandchildren and unlike other Special agent he had picture of them hung on the walls of his office and not his fancy diplomas from Harvard and Yael. Ken came to work everyday, and sat in the same big comfy chair. In the same corner office. On the same floor. Wearing one of ten brown tweed suits and he did it with a big smile on his face like he did every day for the last five years. If you would have met him five years ago things would have been very different. Back then Ken ran the profiling department and he lived and died with every case, and he taught his agents to do the same. He pushed them all to never give up on a case. To work every detail and every fact into the ground until you were sure they held no value to the case. The department's arrest record was a staggering 89 percent. After twenty-five years it gave him a massive heart attack and almost killed him. That day he made a deal with his wife. No more running things. No more new cases. No more stress. Just good old Ken, the guy just waiting for his retirement surrounded by pictures of his family. He handed off the title of head Profiler and took on cold cases. He solved a few of them but there was no pressure to get them all. He still taught his class on profiling every week but he never touched a hot case file in five years. Most days he spent looking over old case files. So when Jordan walked into his office and sat in front of his desk on her day off he was dreading what she was going to tell him. "Jordan, shouldn't you be on a beach somewhere?" He asked putting down the file in his hand.

"I should be but the press got pictures of me and Rick. Tim freaked out and tried to use it against me by calling in The Hammer." She said rolling her eyes.

"Tim was always very stupid. He still doesn't know you're The Hammer's niece?"

"No clue. No one does, except of few of you old timers." She said smiling.

"I swear that boy is dumber then a box of rocks. You know that's why I promoted him out of the department right? He was a danger to our arrest record." Ken said laughing.

Jordan laughed too, not for the joke but at the sound of Ken's deep belly chuckle. He taught her so much, but she loved seeing him like this. He earned the right to be happy, and it was why she really didn't want to do this to him. "Ken, I need you to take Rick on as you're Jr. agent." She said.

"Jordan, I don't need a Jr. agent. I work on old cold cases. What is the boy going to do?" Ken asked sitting back in his chair.

"I want you to teach him like you taught me years ago. Run theory with him, real or fake I don't care. Have him pour over cold case files with you. He used to be a teacher a long time ago so have him help you teach your class. I just want him to work with you before you retire. You're the greatest Agent the FBI ever had and I want some of your wisdom to rub off on him." Jordan said sincerely.

"You just want to keep him in this office, and keep him out of the pool." Ken said smirking. "I'm old Jordan, not stupid."

"True but I also really want him to work with you." She said.

"Fine, but he does other stuff too besides working with me. Just because he's you boyfriend does not give him a break in workload. He works other hot cases first and helps me teach, then we can talk about cold case files. He also does not annoy me or I'll have him sent to the pool. I retire in 14 months. This guy is not going to make this last year hell for me. My wife will kill him, you know Jenny, she will come down to the office and yell at him for me." Ken said begrudgingly.

"Ken you have my word, this is not going to be a burden for you. Besides working with you I'm going to have him float for Burke's office." She said.

"Bring him by tomorrow morning." He said standing up.

Jordan came around the desk and hugged him. "Thanks Ken. You won't regret this, I swear." She said pulling back from him. "Are you losing weight?" She asked looking at him.

"It's this new diet they have me on. The food tastes like crap and they took away my coffee. How's a man supposed to live without coffee? It's injustice I tell you. And jenny is sticking to the diet word for word. No salt. No sugar. No nothing! I've lost twenty pounds in a month!" He said bitterly as he plopped down in his chair.

"Do you want me to call her? Tell her to lighten up a bit?" Jordan asked.

"No, I'm going to have my doctor tell her. A man my age needs something to live for. She took my candies too!" He said opening his desk draw to show her it was empty.

"That's not right. The draw full of candy is the only perk of this job Ken." Jordan said with fake shock.

"It's not funny." Ken said pouting.

"Come on, it's kind of funny?" She said laughing.

"Laugh it up Shaw, I'll have my new Jr. agent clean out your draw." He said with a cold smile.

"You wouldn't!" She said.

"I would." He said.

"You would, you old meanie." She said slinging her arm around him. "Come on old timer. Lets call my uncle and go get an early lunch at the chop house. My treat, and I won't tell Jenny you ate half a cow." She said.

"No use, she'll see I'm happy and know I cheated on the diet. But I don't care right now, all I want is a big plate of mashed potatoes and gravy." Ken said with a goofy smile on his face.

"Then lets go all in! a big steak, a big glass of expensive scotch, and a good cigar." She said walking him out of the office.

Rick was driving Jordan's Mustang back to the city with the girls in the back seat when he got a phone call from Jordan. "How did it go?" He asked.

"Not bad at all considering my uncle was the OPR agent Tim called. You have to be tested tomorrow like I said but you will be working under Ken Carpenter my old boss and mentor. You will also be floating for Burke at White Collar division. Aside from that nothing has changed. you will still have a desk in the bull pen and work any major cases we get." She said.

"That's great!" Rick said relaxing for the first time since reading the article. "I've called my publicist and I had her talk to the Ledger. They will be printing a retraction in tomorrows paper."

"Good, I'll have a press release to go with it tomorrow afternoon. I'm taking Ken out to lunch to butter him up. I'll see you later." She said

"See you later Jordan." Rick said hanging up the phone. "Jordan said the meeting went very good. She said something about her uncle getting called into the meeting?" He said.

"They called uncle Sam?" Kelly asked laughing.

"You have an uncle Sam?" Alexis asked.

"I do. Well a great uncle Sam really." She said.

"And they let him handle the case of his own niece?" Rick asked.

"Almost no one knows they're related. Uncle Sam's last name is Rooker. He was my grandmothers brother. When mom went to Quantico her name was Miller her fathers name so no one made the connection. When they saw no one blinked an eye when she took his class at Quantico they decided to keep the fact that they're related a secret. Mom even worked for uncle Sam's old partner Ken for a long time and no one made a big deal out of it. As long as they didn't talk about it in the office no one knows the truth." Kelly said.

"I'm going to be working for Ken she said." Rick told Kelly.

"You get to work with uncle Ken! That's great. He's such a nice man. He always has a big smile on his face and he always has candy in his desk." She said excitedly.

"Really?" Rick asked.

"You're going to love working for him." She said.

"You're just a fountain of good information kid. Do you know agent Burke? I'm going to be working for him too." Rick asked as they crossed the bridge into Manhattan.

"Peter Burke is like mom's brother. They went to Quantico together along with Tim Hearting. They were friends in school and they made fun of the fact that they sounded like a law firm. Burke, Miller, and Hearting. They even had business card printed up as gag gifts. They all graduated at the top of the class and they all got to work in New York together. Mom and Tim worked for uncle Ken and uncle Peter went to work for white collar division. Mom is still really close with uncle Peter and we go over to their house sometimes. He's married to a very nice lady named Elizabeth, and they have a big dog named Sahmo." Kelly said listing off as many facts as she could.

"That's good to know." Rick said locking all the information away.

"Knowing aunt Betty, that's uncle Sam's wife, were all invited to Sunday dinner this week. So you'll get to meet them all and get to know them." Kelly said.

"Alright you two, I have a mission for you both." He said and he smiled when they both perked up. "You two are going to craft a case file for everyone you think I might work with at the office. They don't have to be everything about the person but give me something to work with. Likes, dislikes, favorite foods, music, books, that kind of stuff. Use what ever means you have at you disposal. You have unlimited funds to work with but a very short time frame. The faster you get me the files the faster I can get them memorized and the faster I can get into the mix. I want everyone to like me. The more they like me the faster I can start picking their brains, and become a better Agent. Jordan is counting on me to be the best and I need information to get there." He said.

"We can do that. We'll put it on an encrypted flash drive and we'll add a file on Jordan too. You want to suck up to the boss the most after all." Alexis said.

"That's what I'm talking about." Rick said.

Kelly looked up from her phone. "Take this next right up here and cut across the park. You can drop us off at aunt Elle's gallery. Uncle Peter is the person we know the least about so we'll start with her. She's also the hive mother when it come's to aunt Jenny and mom. She'll be able to give us something good to work off of." She said looking up from her small moleskin notebook.

"Yes ma'am. Do you have anything for me to do?" He asked getting into the game.

"I do. Aunt Betty, likes a good bottle of port. The more expensive the better. I'd go fined six good bottles. Uncle Sam collects antique firearms. Like old ones that don't even look like guns. Uncle Ken loves salted caramels. He keeps them in his desk, and his wife, aunt Jenny loves books, her favorite book is The Grapes of Wrath. She has like three copies of it but I know for a fact she wants a first edition. So start with that and I'll call you when we get intel from aunt Elle." She said.

"So Port, Book, caramel, and an old gun. That's an easy list except for the gun. There's a waiting period for guns." Rick said pulling up to a nice gallery.

"Not for Agents." Kelly said. "All you have to do is flash your badge and they run you ID number. When it comes back clean you can buy anything you want." She said helping Alexis get out of the car. "You might also look into getting a nice car with four real seats. It's a bit cramped in the back." She said rubbing her but.

"I've already got that covered, I have a guy building me a car right now. I'll go see if it's ready to go." He said.

"Good to know." Kelly said.

"We'll gather what we can and hop from aunt to aunt collecting facts." Alexis said.

"How are you going to make your way around town?" Rick asked.

"I'll call for a car. I have my cards and I think I have some cash on me." Alexis said.

"Well here," Rick said pulling a wade of hundreds from his wallet. "You know I don't like you walking away from me with 'I don't know money'. call and check in frequently and be safe girls." He said before driving off.

The two girls walked into the gallery and Alexis felt under dressed in her jeans and band shirt almost instantly. "Aunt Elle!" Kelly called out and a beautiful woman wearing an expensive black dress and heels walked out of the back room.

"Kelly? Is your mom here with you?" She asked hugging the young girl.

"No, just my friend and future sister Alexis." She said pulling the taller girl over.

"Sorry for the way we're dressed, I would have changed before coming over if I had known." She said waving at the expensive painting on the walls.

"Don't worry Alexis. None of it's good art anyways. Just a bunch of wanabe art students that think they're special. This is all an act to make rich fool spend way too much for junk." Elizabeth said smiling.

"Well you got me fooled." Alexis said laughing.

"Good. Now what did you girls need?" She asked walking them back to her office.

"Well, I don't know if you saw the Ledger this morning?" Kelly started.

"You mean the one with you're mother making out with a hunk? Yeah I saw it, I was going to call her and tease her about it later." She said picking up the paper from her desk.

"I would hold off on that. She almost got into a lot of trouble for it. Uncle Peter helped her but still, it could have been very bad. As it is, Rick, Alexis' dad and the hunk in the picture is going to be forced to come in tomorrow and go through a bunch of tests to prove he's good enough to be in the FBI. Once he passes he's going to be working under uncle Ken and also for uncle Peter. He wanted to get some intel on the two of them so he can fit in better." Kelly said.

"He doesn't want to go through the New guy stage. He wants to butter up his bosses on the first day and score some brownie points right?" Elizabeth asked.

"Exactly. Can you tell us anything about uncle Peter that Rick would need to know to fit in better and get on his good side?" Kelly asked.

"Girls, you better record this talk because there are so many little goodies I can tell you. But first you have to tell me about Rick. I want to make sure he's staying around for good." She said smirking.

"You have nothing to worry about on that front." Alexis said. "My dad's so in love with her its cute. And we tricked them in to falling love so we know what were talking about."

"This is have to hear." Elle said kicking off her shoes and pulling a box of macaroons out.

Across town Rick pulled into a warehouse in a shady industrial part of the docks. Inside the warehouse was full of black cars and SUVs being worked on by dozens of guys in black work shirts and jeans. When he got out of his car a big guy covered in grease and dressed like the rest of the worker walked up to him. "Hey Rick!" He called out.

"Hey Miguel! How's the car coming?" Rick asked bumping fists with him.

"Good dog. She's fine as shit I tell you right now." He said waving him over to the back corner of the shop. "We started out with a red BMW M5 we found in a junk yard. We fixed the frame and dropped in a twin turbo V12 from a 7 series. We put the full armor package on it and we put blue and red light behind the grill and in the visors. You need to get somewhere fast, you just flip those babies down hit the button and boom, flashing lights and sirens. We sprayed it oil slick black, and we put black twenty inch BBS racing rims with run flat Continental tires on this bitch. Track suspension and racing pipes to give her the look and sound. I got my boys putting limo tints on her right now to make it look VIP. I had my cousin re-badge some black bucket seats from a Ferrari for the front to give it that baller feel. The car will be read by tonight. We just have to finish putting in the sounds." He said leading him to a car that just screamed badass.

"Miguel, you are worth every penny. Your shop is just top notch. Add ten grand to the bill and give the boys a tip for me will you?" He said running his hand up the side of the car.

"I'd be happy to. You want us to deliver the car to your house or do you want to come pick it up?" He asked smiling.

"Oh I'll be back tonight for sure." Rick said getting behind the wheel and hitting the start button. The engine spun to life in a symphony of turbo wine and V12 rumble. Rick touched the gas peddle and the whole car shook as the turbos hissed and the tail pipes popped and roared. "Do I look like an agent in this car Miguel?" He asked putting on his sunglasses.

"No, you look like a Badddddd Man! Cops is going to be pulling you over in this baby." Miguel said laughing.

"You're right. Can you have one of the guys knock up a Shield decal and stick it around the car for me? don't ruin the cool factor, but let's tell people it's an Agency car." Rick said holding his belt shield up under the BMW symbol on the front fender.

"I see what you're looking for. I'll have Binky draw some on the car. Lets take a few pictures of that shield before you go so he has something to work with." Miguel said.

Rick's phone rang. As he answered it he tossed Miguel his shield. "Hey girls, how did it go?" He asked.

"We have a lot of good stuff, but if you really want to get on uncle Peter's good side get him something with the Yankees on it. He love that team." Alexis said.

"Yankees, got it. What about Elizabeth?" He asked.

"She wants to talk to you." Alexis said handing the phone over to Elle. "Hello Rick, I'm Elle, Peter's wife." She said.

"Hello, Elle. It's nice to talk to you." He said walking away from a guy grinding a door on a black SUV. "Sorry about the noise I'm in a body shop checking on my new car." He said.

"That's okay. I just wanted you to know you don't have to get me anything. I'm just happy Jordan found a nice guy. But you might want to get Neal, Jones and Diana something nice. They work very close together and you don't want to show up with something for the boss and have to sit next to them empty handed. They treat each other like a family in the office. Jones likes ties, Neal and Diana both like a good bottle of wine." She said.

"Thanks for the head's up Elle. I want to make the best first impression on them." He said.

"Then you better start early. Come to our house tonight for dinner. You and Jordan. I'm making lamb chops. That will give you a chance to get to know Peter." She said.

"That's a great idea. I'll run it buy Jordan and if she doesn't have plans then we're in. I'll bring the wine." Rick said.

"You are very good at this. Checking with Jordan before saying yes is a classy move Rick. You just earned my vote." She said.

"It's the right thing to do. The shop owner is calling my name I'll talk to you later Elle. Bye." He said.

Elle handed the phone back to Alexis. "He's checking with Jordan first. I wish Peter would do that." She said shaking her head.

"My father has always been the more considerate party in his relationships. It's why his two ex-wives divorced him and not the other way around." Alexis said.

"So are you girls off to Jenny's house?" Elle asked.

"We are, we want to make sure our fact are straight." Kelly said looking up from her notes.

"You really are your mother's daughter you know that?" Elle said hugging Kelly.

"If I want to be an agent like my mother then I have to start acting like it." Kelly said primly.

"Well I think it's very cute." Elle said walking them out of the gallery.

A black town car was waiting for them out front. A tall stocky olive skinned man with slick back hair and a crisp black suite opened the door for the two girls. "Hey Tony." Alexis said.

"Hello Miss. Castle." He said formally.

"Relax Tony. She's family." Alexis said patting him on the shoulder as she got in.

"Good to know Lexie. Where are we going today?" He asked dropping the formal tone and letting his Staten Island accent slip out.

"Kelly has the address in her book." Alexis said holding up the small notebook.

"Right, so we're headed north. Any chance we can stop for some chow any time soon? I'm starving and the stiffs I had this morning were real jerks. They didn't let me leave the car once." He said talking with his hands.

"You know the drill, if you see a place you know is good on the way there, we'll stop for lunch. If you make a poor choice you pay." She said smiling.

"I love you Rodgers women. All heart." He said.

"Tony this is Kelly, Kelly this is Tony. He works for Black Car, but he's the only driver my Gram uses. Tony's been driving Gram around for how many years now?" She asked.

"Five glorious years I've been carting Mrs. R around town. She's my best passenger." He said talking with a lot of hand gestures.

"Tony has a game he likes to play. He knows the best restaurants in the city. If he spots one then we stop and go eat, if the food is good we pay. If the food is bad, he pays." Alexis explained.

"Five years and I have never picked up the check." Tony boasted.

"So did you get anything on Elle?" Alexis asked.

"I did, I got the name of the bakery of those great little cookies she had I also found the labels and sizes for the jackets she had hanging up on the rack, and the shoes she was wearing. I also know she likes to curl up on the couch with a good cashmere blanket. She has like ten of them and mom always says she's looking for more. As for the dog, Sachmo loves a big bone. I know the place they get it from, it's on the way. We can run in and get one for tonight." Kelly said looking over her notes.

"You really are scary sometimes, you know that right." Alexis said smiling.

"Want, Act. You know the rest." She said writing more stuff in her book.

"Right." Alexis said slinging her arm round the smaller girl.


	3. Chapter 3

Rick drove up to a parking garage under a big sign that read "Carter and Hill gentlemen's Club and Barber." and pulled out his membership card to show the guard at the gate. "Hello Mr. Castle. No red Ferrari today?" The guard asked.

"The girlfriend's car." He said shrugging.

"You're girlfriend drives a supercharged Mustang?"

"She's also an FBI agent." Rick said with a big smile.

"Lucky dog." The guard said raising the gate.

Rick pulled into his parking space and took the elevator to the main lobby. The girl at the front desk stood to greet him. "Good morning Mr. Castle did you have an appointment this morning?" She asked looking in a book.

"No Tina. But I'm here to meet Mr. Carver in the range. Has he arrived yet?" He asked.

"Not yet. Would you like to take tea in the lounge while you wait or maybe get a shave. Alfonso is free this morning." She said with a big smile.

"You know what? I think I will have a shave. If Carver arrives tell him to set up in the range, and I'll meet him down there as soon as I'm done." Rick said walking through the big leather covered doors to the side of her desk. Through the doors was a hallway with deep green carpet and dark wood walls. Big glass doors lined the walls going down the hall with gold plates explaining what was behind the doors. He past the doors for the tailor, the pro shop, the Spa, and the cobbler. Before heading into the Barber shop. Behind the glass door was an old fashioned barber shop with big leather chairs and barbers in slacks, dress shirts, and bow ties wearing crisp white aprons. As soon as he walked in an old Italian man walked up to him with a big frown. "Ricky, look at your face. You've switched back to the silly razors with too many blades. A Man uses one blade!" He said shuffling him into a chair at the end of the line.

"I know Alfonso, but I keep cutting myself with a straight razor." Rick said rolling his eyes.

"Then you get a safety razor. Like a half-Man." Alfonso said wrapping his face in a hot towel.

"Yes Alfonso." Rick said relaxing back into his chair.

"Now relax and let Alfonso take car of you. I shave you today but you come back next week and I'll trim your hair. It's getting long in the back." He said holding up a few strands of hair.

"You call the shots Alfonso." Rick muttered.

"So what have you been up to, besides this woman FBI agent?" Alfonso asked with a smile.

"You saw the paper did you?" Rick asked as he pulled the hot towel off his face.

"I did, she looks good Ricky, you did a good job. You tell that nice girl you love her?" Alfonso asked as he painted hot lather onto his stubbly face.

"I did. She's the best thing that ever happened to me." Rick said.

"Good. All women want to be loved Ricky. You treat a woman right, you tell her you love her, and she'll follow you into the gates of hell and back." He said running a gold straight razor across a leather strap. "I've been married fifty-six years to my Mary. She gave me three beautiful daughters and a big strong son. All of them doctors." He said running the blade over Rick's face with a practiced ease that only came with a half a century of doing something. "I tell my Mary I love her every day, and every day she says she loves me right back." He said turning Rick's face to get the other side. "Fifty-six years of I love you's add up to a lot Ricky. I'm seventy-three years old and I'm as healthy as a man half my age. That comes form being with a good woman all these years. Love makes you stronger Ricky. So you tell that girl you love her everyday and maybe you live as long as I do." He said cutting the hairs on his neck.

"Ouch!" Rick said making a face.

"That's what happens with you use a woman's razor. You're skin gets soft and the hairs swirl making them harder to cut. You have two options. You can use the right razor or stop coming here? You pick." Alfonso said wiping up the excess lather.

"I'll toss the razor when I get home." Rick said pulling the old man into a hug. "I can't stop coming here. How else am I going to get your wisdom?" He asked taking the ticket from Alfonso. He signed and added five hundred dollars as a tip.

Alfonso looked at it and shook his head. "That's way too much Ricky!" He said getting another ticket.

"It's not Al, use it to take your Mary out on a nice date. Your story inspired me." He said patting him on the back before walking out of the barber shop. He turned left and kept walking to the end of the long hallway past the racquetball court, and the indoor driving range to a door marked Shooting Range. This door was a big thick wood door that lead to room lined with antique guns in glass cases. And two more doors at the back of the room. One was a gun rental shop and the other was the range itself. Rick picked up a set of ear muffs off the rack and walked through range door. The only one in the range was a tall stocky man pulling hand guns out of a big metal case. Rick walked up to him "John Carver, Richard Castle, I'm the one that called you, we met last year at the gun club and you gave me your card?" Rick said shaking his hand.

"I remembered the meeting vividly. You were shooting a Glock that day, and you were shooting a competition target from thirty feet away with one hand. It was some nice shooting." John said.

"Yes well, when I'm presented with a bet I kind of have to take it. It's Man law you know." Rick said smirking.

"Yes, Man law. Speaking of law you said over the phone you're an FBI agent. Do you mind if I run you're ID number?" John asked pulling out an iPad.

"Not at all, is it true there's not waiting period for me?" Rick asked holding up his badge.

"Well if this search comes back positive, and you have the money then you can take anything you buy with you today." John said. The search came up green showing Rick's ID photo. "It's all in order. So we can move on to the fun part." John said putting away his tablet. "You said you were interested in a Beretta 92fs, but you also wanted to know what I had in 9mm. Can you tell me what you're look for in a gun?" He asked.

"Well, I don't know. I've never really owned a gun before I got this one." Rick said pulling out his Sig 229. "I like it just fine. It's a good gun I guess. I've never really fired it yet, but I have fired a 229 before and it didn't feel right in my hand. Don't get me wrong it felt better then a Glock19 . That's the gun I've fired the most and it totally wrong for me." Rick said.

"Okay. The 229 is a step up form the Glock, so no Glocks for you." John said pulling out two Glocks. A Glock 19, and an 18c. "And you have a Sig 229 so you don't need another one of those." He said pulling two of those out of his big case, one all black like his and a silver one. "That leaves us with about four gun types and a few variations. "You said you liked the Beretta 92fs so I brought one in plain black, one in nickel, and an Inox which means stainless steel in Italian." John said placing the guns on a black cloth he laid out.

"I like!" Rick said picking up the Inox. "I want it." He said popping the empty mag out and racking the slide.

"The Inox gets them every time, but are you sure you want that one before you see anything else?" John asked with a big smile.

"I want it but I'm willing to look at what ever else you have." Rick said setting the Inox down.

"Like I was saying I have four options. The beretta 92fs, the Beretta px4, the H&K USP Compact, and the Sig Sauer 226." John said placing nine more guns on the table. One copy of each gun in black, silver, and a special copy. For the PX4 it had the black plastic frame and the sliver slide like the silver PX4 but I had a laser mounted on the frame. The USP Compact had a flash light and a vented slide. And the Sig 226 looked totally custom.

"What is that?" Rick asked pointing to the Sig Sauer.

"That, Mr. Castle, is the P226 X-FIVE. If I was ever in a dark alley staring down ten bad guys and I could choose one gun this would be the gun. You can't find a more accurate gun at twenty-five feet. This gun redefines what good is." John said picking up the silver gun with wood grips. "It's full stainless steel construction so you never have to worry about rust. It has a five inch barrel for greater accuracy. With the ergonomic wood grips and the extended beavertail, it's impossible to hold this gun wrong. It seats perfectly in the hand. Front cocking serrations for easier racking of the slide. Bigger magwell for easy quick magazine changes. low profile glowing dot target sights for easy target acquisition, and a 19 round magazine. This is the greatest hand gun ever made Mr. Castle. Why don't you give it test drive?" He asked holding out a full magazine.

Rick picked up the X-FIVE and got goosebumps. This gun fit every inch of his hand. He slid the mag in to the handle and it clinked home with a good thunk. Putting on his ear muffs and loading a target he sent it out to the twenty five foot mark and lifted the gun up. Rick took a deep breath and sighted in on the target fast using the target sights. He pulled the trigger and the gun fired, cycling the slide back, ejecting the casing, and loading a new round in one buttery smooth motion. Rick clicked the safety on and turn to look at John with a the biggest smile on his face. "I'll take two!" He said looking light headed from excitement. He turned around and empted the mag in six second putting all 19 rounds in the nine and ten rings. "This is the greatest gun ever made!" He exclaimed as he ejected the spent mag.

"So you want the X-five?" John asked pulling a smaller gun case out of his huge metal gun box. The case had X-FIVE on the front. "Can I let you in on a little secret Mr. Castle?" John asked pulling three stainless steel mags out and setting them on the case. "I only brought the cases for the X-FIVE and the Inox. I knew you would buy the X-FIVE, no one fires the X-FIVE and buys something else. But you could be crazy so I figured you would take the Inox instead." John said pulling out a black leather holster.

"I can see why you were so confident. My God." Rick said looking down at the X-five. "So what's the damage? And can I buy two of them? My girlfriend is an agent too and she would just love this gun." He said taking the holster and clipping it to his belt in place of his Sig 229.

"I only brought one with me but I have a bunch at the shop. If you brig her to my shop later we can do the paper work and she can get it then or you can pay for two of them now and I can deliver the second one to your house free of charge." John said.

"I'll pay for the two now. I'll also take the Inox too. I just love the look of it and a Beretta saved my life so I should own one, even if it's a display gun." Rick said taking a loaded mag and loading it in his X-five. He holstered the gun with a big smile.

"So the X-fives will run you three thousand each, that's for the guns, three mags each and two holsters. For and extra three hundred I can throw in this shoulder rig and two more mags." John said holding up a black leather holster and two more silver mags.

"I'll take it." Rick said taking the shoulder rig and slinging it on he put the X-five in the holster and fixed the straps to fit better.

"The Inox is going to be nine hundred. That also comes with a holster and two extra mags. So your total comes to $7200. Add tax, and registration fees, and that brings us to $8450. How will you be paying?" John asked.

"Do you take plastic?" Rick asked holding out his black Amex card.

"I do." John said swiping the card with his iPad. "Every purchase. Comes with a range bag. A box of Ammo and a cleaning kit. " John said pulling out a black bag with the items inside. Rick put his Sig 229 and his Inox in the bag along with the shoulder rig and all the extra mags. "It was a pleasure doing business with you. If you call me later with your address I can bring your other gun to you." John said shaking Rick's hand.

"No, thank you John. This is the best thing I bought in a long time." Rick said patting the but of his new gun.

"Now remember to clean it often. Stainless steel doesn't rust but it does get dirty." John said putting the rest of the guns in his big case and wheeling it out of the range. Rick walked out with him and turned to the gun rental desk.

"Can I help you Mr. Castle?" The older gentleman in full English butler attire asked.

"Yes, I wanted to know if the guns in this room are for sale?" Rick asked.

"They are." The man said coming around the counter with a set of keys. "Was there one in particular you were interested in?"

"I need to by a present for a collector but I have no idea what any of these are worth or what's good and bad. You know a lot about these guns?" Rick asked looking around the dimly lit room at all the guns in the cases.

"I know everything about these firearms sir." He said.

"Good, if you could have any gun in this room what would you take?" He asked.

"Sir, my tastes and your friend's tastes might be very far off the mark. Antique guns are like classic cars. One man might like American muscle, and another might like British sports cars. Both are called classic cars and yet they are night and day from each other." The man said.

"Well the guy I'm getting the gun for is a hard ass, by the book FBI agent." Rick said.

"Oh, FBI!" The man said walking over to a case in the corner. "I'm sure you've heard of Melvin Purvis before." The man said opining the case.

"FBI agent. Famous for killing pretty boy Floyd." Rick said looking at the plane 1911 sitting in a wood case.

"And this is the gun he used to do it." The man said pulling the case out and handing it to Rick. "We bought it in an estate sale about thirty years ago and it's been sitting in that case for a long time. Members come in here all the time asking me what the most expensive gun is, and that's the one they buy. Or they ask for the prettiest gun and they buy it, but no one even looks twice at this thing. And why would they? It's just a plain Jane military issue Colt 1911. A perfectly good gun, but it's not as impressive as the other works of art in the cases around it. So it sits here collecting dust unwanted. If your friend is an agent, I know he would like this gun. It's the only person that would show it the proper respect it deserves." The man said.

"Does it come with some kind of documentation?" Rick asked looking at a piece of FBI history sitting in front of him.

"It comes with more then that. I have the quartermaster's issue form for the gun, I also have all the paperwork from the sale and a picture of Purvis holding the gun." He said pulling a file out from behind the counter.

"I'll take it. How much?" Rick asked.

"Eleven hundred dollars." The man said.

"You mean thousand don't you?" Rick asked.

"No, the price on that gun is right here in the file. See" The man said holding up a tag. $1,100.

"Put it on my tab." Rick said putting the file in his gun bag and taking the case.

"I can do that Mr. Castle. Thank you for taking it and giving it a good home." He said smiling.

It was half pasted five when Jordan pulled up to Rick's building and the valet took her SUV. She walked up to the front desk and the big doorman from before greeted her. "Hello, you're here for Mr. Castle right?" He asked.

"I am." She said.

"Mr. Castle is at his beach house this week." Mike the doorman said.

"No he's not we all came back this morning." She said pulling out her phone. As she looked for Rick's name in her call log a black town car pulled up and the girls jumped out. "Girls!" she said hugging them. "Where were you guys? Where's Rick with my car?" She asked.

"We sent dad on a shopping trip." Alexis said leading the two Shaw women up to the apartment. "Dad had this great idea. He had us gather information about the Agent's he's going to be working for and he's getting them gifts to help grease the wheels a bit. No one likes being the new guy but if he shows up with gifts the first day?" Alexis said.

"So Rick is out shopping and he left you two girls to go from house to house digging up information for him?" She asked.

"Yep. He should be done by now. Did he call you to tell you about dinner at the Burkes?" Kelly asked looking over her notes.

"No he did not." Jordan said trying to keep up.

"Well he was supposed to ask you if it was okay to have dinner with uncle Peter and aunt Elle." Kelly said.

"Knowing my dad, he found something cool to buy and forgot to call." Alexis said coming down the stairs with her laptop.

"I'll call him and see what's going on." She said pulling out her phone again.

Rick was just coming out of a high-end sports collector shop when his phone rang. "Jordan?" He answered.

"Rick, we're having dinner with Peter and Elle tonight? What time? Are we bringing anything? You know what those are?" She asked.

"Good questions I should have the answers to?" Rick said getting into her car.

"You're very good at this." She said rolling her eyes.

"I did tell her I had to ask you first." Rick said smiling.

"And you didn't ask me." She said.

"I got districted. I'm coming back to the apartment in fifteen minutes and I'll show you why I forgot." He said.

"Okay, until then I'll talk to Elle, about what's going on tonight." She said.

"I love you." He said.

"I love you too." She said hanging up the phone.

"OOOOh, you love him." The girls said making fun of her.

"You two shut up." She said smiling as she called Elle.

"Were still on for dinner right? I'm making a lot of Lamb chops." Elle said .

"Were' on for dinner but this is the first time I'm hearing about it. What time do you want us to drop by?" Jordan asked.

"Peter said he would get out at Six so, Seven-ish?" Elle said.

"Are we bringing anything?" Jordan asked.

"Rick said he was bringing wine. Didn't he call you?" Elle asked.

"I just talked to him. He had every intention of calling me and then he got distracted." Jordan said rolling her eyes.

"At lest he thought of checking with you. That's one more step then Peter would have thought of." Elle said laughing.

"True, Peter never was one for remembering things." Jordan said.

"So I'll see you two at Seven-ish." Elle asked.

"You will. I wanted to show you this new suite Rick got for me today." Jordan said.

"See you then." Elle said.

Jordan looked up from her phone and saw the girls pouring over the laptop. "Do I even want to know Girls?" She asked.

"We're making up files for the information we gathered." Kelly said.

"Why does a part of me not like any of this?" She asked.

"Because you're the boss and you know bribery is wrong." Kelly said.

"True, but I think the fact that thing one and thing two are doing it is making me feel uneasy. Speaking of which. What are the terrible twosome going to do tonight with us out of the house? Throw a party? Invite boys over? Do a bunch of drugs?" Jordan asked smirking.

"Actually we're thinking about spending the night at Page's house to give you and my dad a chance to be together." Alexis said.

"Good idea. Are we going to drop you two off before we go to dinner or are you two going to take a cab?" She asked.

Before she got a chance to answer Rick came in carrying a bunch of shopping bags, his gun bag, and all of their suitcases. "A little help please?" He said trying to close the door. Alexis and Kelly jump up to help him while Jordan laughed and took pictures of his unstable form.

"What is all that stuff?" Jordan asked.

"Well lets see…" Rick said grabbing a bag. "This is an Armani tie set for Jones. And this is a signed first edition of the Grapes of Wrath for Jenny Carpenter. This is the best salted caramel I could find in Manhattan for Ken. This box has six bottles of 1984 port that cost six hundred dollars a bottle for Sam's wife Betty. I have two bottles of 1974 Broadax for Diana and Neal. I have a cashmere blanket made from only young lambs for Elle, and a baseball signed by Mickey Mantel and Roger Mares." Rick said handing the girls the gifts so they could put them on the counter in piles for the places they went to.

"Wow that's a lot of stuff." Jordan said looking at the piles.

"That's nothing. Look at this." He said handing her the wood case with the 1911.

"This is a nice gun. Who's it for?" She asked.

"Sam Rooker. It used to belong to an FBI agent. Look at the weapon release form." He said handing her the old document.

Jordan read the name three times before she looked back up at Rick. "You found Marvin Purvis' gun? Is this the gun? This can't be the gun he used to kill Pretty Boy Floyd?" She said in shock.

"It's the gun." Rick said showing her the photo of Purvis standing over Floyds body holding the gun.

"My God Rick this must have cost you a fortune." She said setting the gun on the counter softly.

"Eleven hundred bucks." Rick said showing her the tag.

"What!" She asked.

"It was sitting in a display case for thirty years in a men's club. No one even paid any attention to it. The caretaker was happy to see it go to a good home. So what do you think, am I going to score some major points with uncle Sam this weekend or what?" He asked.

"Now I can see why you forgot to call me." She said touching the gun in the case.

"Oh that's not why I forgot to call you. This is." He said handing her his new gun.

"What the hell is this?" She asked looking the gun over in shock.

"It's a Sig Sauer P226 X-FIVE. The greatest handgun ever built. Jordan you don't know what god is until you've fired this gun. The action is so smooth it has hardly any kick." He said dropping the mag and racking the slide. "Full stainless steel, custom wood grips and an extended beavertail. Big magwell for easy mag change. Oh and the mags hold 19 rounds." He said handing her the mag.

"Where the hell did you find this gun?" She asked checking out the smooth action on the slide.

"I met a gun dealer last year that sells to rich clients. So are you jealous?" He asked reaching for his gun.

"Maybe." She said not wanting to hand it over.

There was a knock at the door and Rick smirked. Alexis opened the door and John was standing there with a gun case. "Good because I bought you one too." He said walking over to get the case form John. "Thanks John your timing was perfect. I was just showing her my X-FIVE, and she was so jealous." Rick said.

"Any time Rick, if you ever need anything gun related just call me." He said shaking his hand.

Rick walked over to the counter were Jordan was sitting. "I got this for you because I knew you would want one too." He said opening the case to show her the gun.

"Rick this is too much." She said taking her gun out.

"Actually at three grand a pop they were very reasonable." Rick said putting his gun back in his holster.

"Three thousand?" she asked looking up at him.

"Lets put that in perspective. I spent more on wine then I did on your gun.

"You did? How much did you spend on wine?" She asked.

"You don't want to know. What time is dinner?" He asked smelling his t-shirt.

"About two hours. She said Seven-ish." Jordan said.

"Seven-ish?" Rick asked.

"It's FBI wife talk. It means he gets out at six, but he might catch a case so she hopes he'll be home and done complaining about his job by around seven. Dinner will be served at 7:30PM." She said reading the booklet that came with her new gun.

"Good to know. We have to go pick up my car from the shop before we go and I really need a shower." Rick said.

"We have to drop the girls off at Page's house too. We can get your car, drop the girls off and swing back here to drop of my car and head back out." She said.

"Or, I can call Tony and see if he can take us to your car." Alexis said pulling out her phone. "That way you don't have to come back here and you can stop at the pet store three blocks from their house to pick up the big bone we ordered. And then stop by the bakery and buy a Double fudge cake. It's aunt Elle's favorite." She said and Kelly handed her mother two slips of paper.

"Rick has you two working hard." She said laughing.

"We want to help him, so he can help you." Alexis said. Looking up from the laptop.

"And I get to practice information gathering." Kelly said excitedly.

"Right, carry on girls." Jordan said going back to the booklet.

"Tony will be out front in twenty minutes." Alexis said looking up from her phone.

"We better pack." Kelly said.

"Already done, we'll just grab a few things from our suitcases and toss them in our bags." Alexis said.

"Good call sis." Kelly muttered looking over her shoulder at what she was typing.

Jordan smiled and took a picture of them working together. Rick came down the stairs dressed in a blue suite and light blue shirt. "So what are we doing?" He asked.

"Tony is coming to get us." Alexis said.

"Good to know." Rick said tossing the signed ball into the bag with the blanket. He looked around Jordan's shoulder. "Still reading the user manual? You're such a dork." He said kissing her.

"Dad," Alexis said. "Here are the scores for the last five Yankee games. You're a fan now and score updates will be sent to your phone." She said handing him a paper.

"What's this for?" He asked.

"Dinner conversation dad. You know, guy stuff?" She said rolling her eyes.

"Right, guy stuff." Rick said "Anything for Elizabeth?" He asked.

"No need dad, you're cute and you know art, and books. You don't need help with the Aunt's, you need things to talk about with the uncles." She said.

"Are you trying to Imply I'm not manly?" He asked.

"Do you want me to answer that truthfully or do you want me to lie to bolster you confidence?" She asked with a smile.

"Lie to me." Rick said patting her on the head.

"No dad you're very manly! Sports, hunting, fishing, and man stuff." She said patting him on the back.

"Good to know." He said puffing out his chest.

"You two are priceless." Jordan said laughing at them.

"The car is here!" Alexis said grabbing her bag.

Jordan put her new gun on her hip and shifted around a bit. "Lets do this." She said.

At 7:15 Elizabeth answered the door. She pulled Jordan into a hug leaving Rick standing in front of Peter. "Richard Castle." He said holding out his hand.

"Peter Burke." He said shaking his hand.

"Elle said you like base ball." He said handing him the ball.

"What's this? Are you kidding me? Is this real?" Peter asked shocked.

"It's real, it's a thank you for helping Jordan this morning and agreeing to let me work with you." Rick said. "And because I like being fare, this is for you Elizabeth." He said handing her the bag. "And this is for Sachmo!" he said holding up the big bone. The huge dog ran up to him and tackled him to the ground before taking the bone and bumping his head to Rick's chest. "I think he likes bones." Rick said taking Peter's hand to help him up.

"You have no idea. You just earned yourself a lot of points with the dog." Peter said. "You earned a lot of points with me too." He said looking at the ball.

"I know how it is to be the new guy, and I didn't go to Quantico so I'm seen as an outsider. When I first started working for the NYPD I was just a writer sitting in a room full of cops. I have a feeling I'm going to be seen as half a cop sitting in a room full of agents tomorrow so I figured I could butter up the people I'm working with and maybe they'll give me a pass." Rick said taking a seat next to Peter on the couch as the women went off to the kitchen.

"I can see where you're coming from. It must have been hard to fit in." Peter said thinking about Neal.

"It was at first but then I started to help solve cases and the bug got to me. I love the chase. After two and a half years I had a falling out with the head detective and I was out of the precinct. That first day was harder then I thought it would be. You know sitting at home, not being able to go back to work?" Rick said taking the glass of red wine from Jordan. "If my daughter wasn't there to drag me out of the house I don't know what I would have done." He said shaking his head.

"I know the feeling. I can't wait to get a vacation and after a few days I can't wait to get back to work." Peter said nodding.

"Hey you two! Dinner's ready." Elle said from the table.

"I think she was talking to us." Rick said standing up.

"I think so." Peter said laughing.

They had dinner and chatted when the cake was cut Elle turned the conversation back to the office. "So you start tomorrow Rick, any worries?" She asked.

"Yes and no. There's a lot riding on the tests tomorrow, and I want to do as good as I can, not just for me, but for Jordan too. She vouched for me and I feel like I really have to wow the critics tomorrow or I'll be a laughing stock." He said.

"You have nothing to worry about Rick, you'll do great tomorrow." Jordan said.

"It's just the not knowing." Rick said.

"You've never taken any of the tests?" Peter asked.

"None of them." Rick said.

"Yes you have." Jordan said patting his hand. "I gave him the ten round range test, starting from the table, and he did better then me." Jordan said.

"Did he?" Peter asked. Jordan had always been the best shot out of the three of them. "So you know you have that down." Peter said.

"But what else? I don't know. Jordan just keeps saying I'll be fine but she's never told me what I'm going to be doing tomorrow. I know it's not her fault but I'm still in the dark." Rick said.

"I haven't told you about testing yet?" Jordan asked looking shocked.

"Not even a little bit." Rick said smiling an uneasy smile.

"It's the classic oversight." Peter said.

"It is. I totally forgot. The testing is broken down into two sections. Practical and theory. Tomorrow will be Practical. Practical has four subsections. Range, driving, obstacle course, and crime scene. Range has three levels. Easy: which is just accuracy. You get ten rounds, there is no time limit, and you just have to put Six of the ten shots in the black. Medium: which is the same test but timed. And hard is the same timed test but you start with your gun holstered. It's your first time at the range so you should be given the easy test, But because Moss is filling out your test card you can bet you'll be given the hard test, and you passed that easy. Plus you got a new gun." Jordan said.

"New gun? You haven't even started yet and you have a new gun?" Peter asked smirking.

"I didn't like the Sig 229." Rick said.

"I can see you're going to do fine in that." Peter said. "The driving sub section gets most people that never went through training. You have to complete three obstacle. They can be anything from a high speed game of follow the leader through cones, or a J-turn, or even a Pit maneuver. There are a few more but you can take five points off you're total and have the test administrator demonstrate the move for you before you take your turn." Peter said.

"And you only need to get two of the three right to pass." Jordan said.

"I've done most of that kind of stuff. I took a class at a driving school in Texas that taught that stuff." Rick said relaxing.

"The obstacle course is what it sounds like. A military obstacle course. You know like they have in movies." Peter said. "I'm glad I don't have to do that anymore. You look fit though. You should be fine there too. As long as you finish the course in under a time limit. I think it's three minutes. My old time was two minutes and change, and I was never very fit." Peter said.

"And you've walked a crime scene before so nothing new there." Jordan said.

"Unless she throws something crazy at him. You're assuming she's going to give him a fake murder crime scene. What if she hits him with a hostage negotiation?" Peter said.

"She's an evil bitch but she's not crazy. Tim will tell her about my threats, and you know how she got were she is." Jordan said. "The worst thing she can do is throw him into a real investigation."

"Then I'll take him. He can work a crime scene with me." Peter said.

"Are you sure Peter? This is going to put you on Tim's shit list." Jordan said.

"If it's going to cause you trouble, then I don't want you to do anything. I've seen a hostage negotiation before and I have a degree in Criminal theory." Rick said.

"No, I'll have Diana put in a request for a floater first thing tomorrow so my department is at the top of the list. You'll come work for me for the day and I'll grade you." Peter said.

"Thank you Peter. You two really helped me relax about this whole thing." Rick said sitting back in his chair.

"We don't have anything on the schedule but you know this city, something is bound to pop up." Peter said. "I love this city but man are there some messed up people living in it. I've been doing this job long enough to see some messed up things."

"You think you've seen strange? I spent almost three years working strange crimes unit. I've seen more messed up crap in three years then you've seen in a lifetime. One time we found this women in a construction site. She was frozen solid." Rick said before remembering Elle was still at the table. He turned to her with a sheepish look on his face. "Sorry Elizabeth. I'm used to being around cops and murder mystery writers." He said.

"Don't mind me, I've been with him long enough to be used to it." Elle said clearing plates away. "Carry on with the story. If it gives me nightmares I'll keep Peter up all night." She said.

"Well then I really better stop talking. I don't want the boss mad at me tomorrow." Rick said laughing.

"Oh come on! You can't start a story like that without finishing it. If you finish the story I'll tell you about the time Neal rob a bank for us to prove the bank wasn't safe." Peter said.

"You let Neal rob a bank?" Rick asked.

"We stood by the car and he walked out with 2.5 million in Ben Franklins." Peter said smirking.

"I have a feeling I'm going to like floating in your office." Rick said sharing the smirk.

The rest of the night was spent trading stories. Rick was amazed Peter let Neal do the things he did, and Peter was shocked by the gruesome murders Rick helped solve. By ten Rick and Peter were the only two at the table, both Elle and Jordan stopped listening a long time ago and were sitting on the couch talking about the girls. Jordan yawned and looked down at her watch. "Oh, wow it's ten already. We have to get going." Jordan said standing up. "Rick, wrap it up. We have to go. We have work in the morning." She said walking over to the table.

"Okay, sweetie." He said getting up.

"Sweetie?" Jordan asked.

"What? No good?" He asked.

"No good. Lets stick to Jordan and Rick for now. We don't need you yelling out Sweetie in the office by accident." She said kissing him.

"Understood. Well, I'll see you tomorrow Peter." He said shaking his hand.

"Thanks for the ball." Peter said smiling.

"And Elle, dinner was great." Rick said turning to Elizabeth sitting on the couch under the blanket be got her.

"Thanks for the blanket, It's so soft." She said smiling up at him tiredly.

"I'll walk you guys out." Peter said leading them out the door. Rick hit the unlock button and the BMW beeped. "Is that your car?" He asked.

"It is. Bullet proof up to an AK47 round and zero to sixty in under five seconds. I know a guy that makes them I can give you his number if you want one." Rick said.

"Noooo. I can't afford something like that." Peter said.

"There's always Christmas wish list." Rick said opening the door for Jordan.

Peter's eye got big, before he laughed. "See you tomorrow Rick." He said as they drove away. He was still laughing when he came back into the house. "I tell you Elle, I like this guy, he reminds me of Neal." He said dropping down on the couch next to her.

"It's the care free attitude. Rick is what Neal would have been if he would have made a fortune legally." She said.

"I think you're right Honey. Still I think he's a great guy." He said.

"He is. He's good for Jordan too." She said laying her head on his shoulder.

"I hope it works out for those two. They seam good together." He said.

"Their girls will make sure they do. I swear those two are scary. This throw is form my favorite designer and the cake came from the bakery down the street." She said shaking her head.

"Look at their parents Elle, what did you expect? Kelly has always wanted to be Jordan and Rick raised his daughter Alexis on his own so you know there's a lot of him in her. It's a scary combination. One I'm going to see play out at work everyday." Peter said smirking.

"You think this is going to be fun don't you?" Elle asked.

"So fun." He said.


	4. Chapter 4

Rick heard the sound of his alarm clock. He rolled over and smacked it to shut the black box up and then rolled back over to hold Jordan. "We have to get up you know?" She said softly.

"I know but I like being here with you." He said kissing her neck.

"I like it here too, but we have to get up, it's your first day." She said.

"Fine I'll get up. You want the shower first?" He asked.

"Actually I have to run back to my apartment and get another suit." She said.

"I could call and order you another one and then join you in the shower." He said with a sexy smile.

"That sounds very tempting, by the way how much was that suit?" She asked rolling out of his grasp to sit up.

"Twenty-two hundred I think." He said sitting up too.

"Twenty-two! That's a lot of money for an outfit Rick." She said picking the discarded jacket and skirt up off the floor.

"No it's not. At that price it's a steal, that blue suit right there cost three times that much." He said pointing to the discarder suit on the floor.

"I know, it's just you're not a writer now Rick, you have to stop spending so much." She said.

"Jordan if we're going to make this work you're going to have to get comfortable with the fact I have a lot of money. I mean a lot. The books don't even cover the amount of money I have. I've invested in a lot of things, a long time ago, and the dividends of those investments have made me so rich I could burn this place to the ground and rebuild it twice over and not put a dent in my bank account." He said coming around the bed to face her.

"Look, I know you think you have a lot and Kelly said you have a crazy amount but what are we talking about here?" She asked.

"Jordan, I invested in Apple before the iPod. Google when it was just a startup, and Microsoft before the XBOX. I have a trust fund set aside for Alexis with a hundred million dollars in it. I have so much money I can't spend it all." He said. "I could have quit writing a long time ago, but I liked doing it. I took a job with the NYPD, because I like doing it. I agreed to be an FBI agent because I like solving cases. I don't need to do anything Jordan. I do the things I do because I like doing them. Besides the shoes cost just as much as the suit." Rick said laughing.

"Rick, it's not funny. I can't just keep letting you buy things for me. I have a good job and I can pay for things too you know?" She said feeling crazy for having this conversation.

"I'll make you a deal. You can do whatever you want with your pay, but you can't freak out on me if I buy you a rack of new suites, or a gun, or a car, or anything." He said holding her close to him.

"Fine, but you have to let me keep freaking out about the price of things for a bit longer. Up until last week I was single and living comfortably off my paycheck." She said smiling.

"Agreed, now should I make the call or are you really going back to your apartment?" He asked kissing her neck.

"Make the damn call! I'll get the shower going." She said tossing the suit in her hand on a chair as she walked into the bathroom.

"This day is shaping up to be a lot of fun already." He said picking his phone up off the nightstand. He found the number he was looking for and hit call. "Hey Jena did I wake you?…. Good, I need you to send over five more outfits like the one you put together yesterday and send them to my apartment as soon as you can…You're the best… I'll see you in a half hour." He said tossing the phone on the bed and hurrying into the bathroom.

A half hour later and Jordan answered the door in a bath robe to fined a twenty something blond model carrying a bunch of garment bags. "Hey I'm Jena. The fashion consultant. I think these are for you? How did the suit fit yesterday?" She asked handing over the bags.

"It fit great. Like it was made for me." She said waving the girl into the apartment.

"It should, it's Armani. I got you three more like it in gray, navy blue and dark green. I also pulled two Gucci suits for you in white and light gray to give you some variety. Each suit is paired with a shirt to match, and I added three pairs of Louboutin's and three pairs of Jimmy Choo's to mix and match. I also figured you would need some lingerie, seeing as you're ordering to the house so I guessed your sizes and added a few sets to the mix. All together you should be set for the summer with that but I'd add a few mix and match pieces. If you have any preference let me know, and anything that doesn't fit can be altered or exchanged for the right size." She said in a voice just a little too perky for Jordan this early in the day.

"Good to know, thank you." Jordan said feeling uncomfortable with the whole idea.

Rick came down the stars and Jena was on him in a flash. "Rick what have I told you about wearing winter wool in the summer?" She asked with her hands on her hips.

"Not to?" He said looking down at the black suit he was wearing.

"Right, both of you up stairs." She said walking up the stair case muttering about man child. "You can try on the new suits Jordan and I can find this man child a proper summer suit.

"She seams… Excitable." Jordan said smirking.

"Just go along with her. It's easier. Trust me." Rick said walking back up stairs.

"Is she always this energetic?" Jordan asked following him.

"Always, you get used to it." He said.

"I hope this doesn't take too long we have to be in the office in an hour and a half." Jordan said.

At 9:05 a big black SUV and a black BMW pulled into the underground parking lot of the FBI office. "Well that was fun. I like being in Law Enforcement. It lets me break the traffic laws." Rick said grabbing two big shopping bags and a coffee cup out of the car.

"Tell me about it." She said walking with him to the elevator.

"So now that were in the building we have to keep things professional, but I must say those shoes are doing really nice things to your insanely hot legs agent Shaw." Rick said watching her step onto the elevator in front of him.

"That was your one and only joke. Lets not get a strike on your first day." She said boxing him on the back of the head. "Remember, Agent Shaw, or Jordan if you have to in this building for the next few months until the heat dies down on you Castle." She said with a sad smile.

"I understand Shaw." He said nodding.

"let's stop by Ken's office first. I want you to meet him and then I'll see what the bitch sent up to my office for you." She said as the doors opened on the tenth floor. She lead him to the back corner office. Inside Ken was pacing the floor. "Remember, Ken is the best agent to ever work in this building. Listen to him and he will make you the best." She said before opening the door. "Hey Ken this is agent Richard Castle, your new Jr. Agent." She said.

Ken turned to him and looked him over with a keen eye before picking up three files off his desk. "All of these deaths were labeled suicides. You have ten minutes to tell me which one is a murder and which two are real suicides." He said in a gruff voice.

Rick took the files and drooped his bags on the floor by the door. He took a look around the office and didn't see any open work space so he sat right down on the floor and opened the three case files. In seconds he had the crime scene photos spread out on the floor and police reports in his hand. For the next five minute Rick looked over each report and studied every photo. At just under the six minute mark Rick repacked the files and stood up. "This is your murder. Tina Brown, age 36. Found in her apartment with a GSW to the right temple and a .22 caliber gun in her hand." He said handing the files back to Ken.

"Why is this the murder?" Ken asked.

"Aside from the fact that woman almost never use a gun to kill themselves you mean? I could have used process of elimination because the other two are textbook cases of suicide, but I didn't need to do that. There are about ten things wrong with this crime scene. The fact that the gun is still in her hand was the biggest tip off." Rick said.

"Why?" Ken asked.

"In the case of a GSW suicide the gun falls out of the hand as it goes limp, but the most glaring mistake the killer made was the placement of the GSW.

"How so?" Ken asked.

"She was shot on the right side of her head and she's clearly a lefty. Look at the desk in font of her, everything is set up on the left side. She even has a watch on her right wrist." Rick said.

"Very good agent Castle." Ken said nodding. He picked up a file box off the chair in font of his desk. "Have a seat. You just passed the test I used to give all of my Jr. agents." He said sitting down in his chair.

"How many agents failed that test?" Rick asked.

"You would be shocked." Ken said. Ken look at Rick as he sat down. "Jordan tells me you worked for the NYPD as a consultant." He said.

Rick smiled at the obvious trap. Ken might look like a kindly old man but he was a master at word play. "I wouldn't say I worked for the NYPD as much as I was able to tag along for close to three years. In that time I helped solve 126 murders." Rick said.

Ken nodded. "After three years of hot cases what do you think about working cold cases?" Ken asked.

"A case is a case. Every crime tells a story, and every story needs an ending. It's my job to find that ending." He said taking a sip from his Coffee.

"I hope you don't think your going to get off easy because you're sleeping with the boss?" Ken said

Rick shook his head. "I expect to be tested and pushed harder then any other Jr. agent in the building because of my relationship with agent Shaw." Rick said.

"I expect you to work any hot case that comes in to this department, help me prep for my Wednesday class, and help White Collar division. If none of that needs to be done then we will look at cold cases, and you can pick my brain for information." Ken said.

"Understood sir." Rick said nodding.

"Good, you're not a total ass hat. Now that I know that we can drop all the games." Ken said relaxing back into his chair with a smile on his face. "It's nice to meet you Rick, Jordan spent two hours talking you up yesterday and I'm glad she wasn't blowing smoke up my ass." He said taking a sip from his coffee mug and making a face. "God damned green tea." He said smacking his lips.

"Would you like me to get you a Coffee Sir?" Rick asked standing up.

"No, and cut the sir crap. In the room you call me Ken, and outside of it you call me Ken. I'm too old to be worried about titles." He said laughing.

"If we're being informal I like Rick if you don't mind?" Rick said.

"No I don't mind, now relax, That evil witch Moss is going to put you through the ringer today so you might as well take a load off now." Ken said.

"That reminds me, Kelly told me you like caramel." Rick said pulling a big box of Salted Caramels out of his shopping bag.

"Bless, you son. The wife took all my candy away." Ken said ripping the box open and popping a candy in his mouth. "OHHHHH Sweet Baby Jesus! These are good." He said humming with a big smile on his face. "Why didn't you just lead with this? I would have spared you the third degree." Ken said savoring the second piece.

"I wanted you to like me for me and not the top end narcotic you're putting away right now." Rick said smiling.

"Where did these come from and can you get more?" Ken asked trying to read the ripped up box.

"They came from this little shop on the upper west side run by a little old lady that makes fresh Candy everyday. That was just the sampler. I can get trays full of those if it will get me ahead in this office. I'm not above trading sugar for respect." Rick said laughing.

"I will need more of these. And I need you to hid them in your desk in case the wife stops by. She's mean I tell you. Mean. She took my candy." Ken said.

"For shame!" Rick said laughing along with him.

"Tell me about it." Ken said.

Jordan walked into the room. "I leave you two alone for a half hour and I come back to find you two laughing and carrying on." She said smirking. "I expect you to run this Jr. agent through his passes, not sit around and crack wise." She said.

"You boss." Ken said.

"As for you, Mr. Happy. Your test card came through. You're first test starts in fifteen minutes in the range." She said handing him a file folder with a carbon copy form inside. "You will take this file with you to every test and return it to me at the end of the day so I can look over your scores." She said in a stern tone. Then she smiled. "It's just like we thought Rick, she sighed you up for the worst of the worst. She even put live crime scene, I'm thankful Peter put out the request for you first. So when he calls today you have to drive out to where he is and he will write up your performance and score you on the sheet." She said patting him on the shoulder.

"I feel oddly nervous, but I know I can do all of this." He said reading off the test list.

"It's the first one. We all get nervous on the first one." Ken said.

"Good to know." Rick said standing up. "Can I leave my bags here for now?" Rick asked.

"Sure you can, son. I'm going to have someone form property control move a desk in front of my office so I can yell for you easier, until then you can sit out there with the other Jrs or you can sit in here between tests." Ken said standing up to walk him out of his office.

"Thanks Ken." Rick said walking out of the office.

Rick walked into the shooting range and up to the short, Hispanic man with a clip board. The man was dressed in black cargo pants and a black t-shirt. "Special Agent Shaw said that I was to report to you to start my testing?" He asked.

"Score card." The guy said holding out his hand.

"Right" Rick said as he handed over the carbon copy form. The well tanned instructor took it and looked it over before making a few marks. Rick was feeling the jitters in the pit of his stomach and his hands where shaking.

"Take these and follow me." The guy said as he handed Rick a paper target and ear muffs. They stepped up to one of the lanes. "Put the target on the holder and send it out to the red line." He said. Rick did as he was told and set his target up about half way down the range at twenty-six feet out. "Put the ear protection on and when I tell you to, you will draw your service weapon and put ten rounds in to the target as fast and as accurately as you can. You will then put the safety back on and holster your weapon. Do you understand the instructions I have just given you Jr. agent Castle?" The instructor asked.

"Yes I do." Rick said as he unsnapped the hammer strap on his Sig and moved his suit coat out of the way. Rick picked up the ear muffs, put them on, and looked at the target. He took a deep breath as he rested his hand on the butt of his gun.

"Go!" The instructor said. Rick pulled his X-FIVE and took aim at the center of the target. four seconds and ten round later, Rick put his gun away and took off his ear muffs. "Call the target back and step aside." The instructor said in his board tone. Rick held down the button and the target glided back. He didn't look at the target he just stepped aside. "Of ten shots you put six in the ten ring, and four in the nine ring. Your time was four seconds. That's better then almost anyone else I've seen take this test." The man said with a hint of pride. "What is your rang score from your last test?" The instructor asked.

"I don't have one. This is my first range test." Rick said.

"Well what was your final range score at Quantico?" The man asked.

"I didn't go to Quantico." Rick replied.

"So this was your first ever rang test? Where the hell were you recruited from? SEALs, Marines, or private contractors? " The instructor asked.

"I was a consultant for the NYPD's strange crimes team. Before that I was a murder mystery writer. You might know my work from the Derek Storm series?" Rick said.

"Well you are one hell of a shot if this was your first test. That means I'm not going to be seeing a lot of you. I'm the instructor for the Advanced weapons class. I'm special agent Victor Garza from the tactical division. Nice to meet you." Victor said holding out his hand.

"You teach a class on Advanced Weapons? What kind of stuff do you go over?" Rick asked excitedly.

"Well I usually teach ivy league pansies to do what you just did, but in Advanced2 I teach SWAT tactics, and assault weapon training. What branch did you say you worked for again?" Victor asked.

"Profiling." Rick said.

"Well your department already has a few guys with SWAT training, but you can never have too many people with that training." Victor said with a smile.

"No I expect you can't. I look forward to taking your class, but I don't know what classes I'm going to need to take before I can take classes for fun." Rick said eyeing up the gun cage on the other side of the rang filled with M4's, and MP5's.

"Well this is one indicator of what you will need to take. You see your score card. It's what we call the carbon copy paper. You see there are different boxes on it? The one marked weapons range is the test you just took, it has a maximum score of 100 points. If you got all of your shots in the ten ring in under ten seconds your score would be 100. You got a 96. I myself would be hard pressed to replicate that same score. You only need a score of 75. If you can do it again next month then you will never have to take an advanced weapons class. Most other tests are like that. You get a score out of a hundred and if you get more then an 85 twice you never have to take a class in that subject unless your boss says so." Victor said.

Rick thanked Victor and walked out of the range headed for his next test. It was held in the back parking lot. Sitting on the hood of two old crown vic. Cop cars where two men in racing suits, and helmets. Rick walked up to the first guy, "Excuse me, is this the driving test?" Rick asked.

"No laddy it's the written test. We just like standing around next to cars all day!" The man said with a strong Chicago accent.

"Right, sorry. It's my first day." Rick said.

"It's okay son my name is Todd Collins. Someone doesn't like you very much lad if they put you to the tests on your first day. Well no time like now to prove them wrong then, is there? Go into the little field house and find a racing suit and helmet that fit you and come back out." Collins said pointing out a small hut off to the side of the lot.

Ten minutes later Rick came out in a full nomex racing suit and helmet. Collins sat in the passenger seat and had Rick sit behind the wheel. "Now since I've never seen you before today that means you didn't come from Quantico. Since you didn't come from the school I have to ask you if you would like me to show you any of the three high speed maneuvers we are going to do today?"

"What three are we doing?" Rick asked.

"The high speed hand brake U turn, the J turn, and the high speed pit maneuver. Are you confident you can pull these off?" Collins asked putting on his helmet.

"I can do them." Rick said.

"Then show me. Lets start with the hand break U turn." Collins said

Rick started the car, put the old Crown Vic. In gear and slammed his foot down on the gas pedal. The car shot forwards and when he got the car up to forty he pulled the hand break and jerked the wheel to the left spinning the car around 180 Degrees. He then hit the gas and ran back to the spot he started at. Once he was stationary in the parking spot he threw the car into reverse and hit the gas. Rick looked out the back window and when he cleared the cones he dropped the car into neutral, pulled the hand break, and jerked the wheel to the right spinning around. Once he was facing the opposite way he threw the car into gear and hit the gas. He was about to ask what to do next when the second car went blasting by him. Rick gave chase and when they turned back to the open area he came up along side the other car and taped the back right end with his front left fender spinning the second car out. "Good, now pull back into the spot where we started from." Collins said.

After the test they got out and Collins filled in his score card. "So how did I do?" Rick asked nervously.

"Very good for your first test. Are you a cop?" Collins asked.

"No, why?" Rick asked.

"Because you pulled off the standard cop pit maneuver flawlessly." Collins said.

"I learned defensive driving at a race school in Texas. As for the pit maneuver, a friend of mine taught it to me. Well, at least he showed me how to do it on paper. Esposito refused to let me try it for real with his car." Rick said shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably.

"You gotta pee son? It happens to the new guys all the time. There's a john in the Felid house and while your there you can take off the suit and helmet." Collins said with a big smile. Rick ran for the little house at full speed to a soundtrack of gut busting laughter. When he came back out in ten minutes Collins was still smiling. "Make it to the can in time?" He asked.

"Yes I did thank you for asking. So how did I do?"

"You got a 90. Not bad but your hand brake turns need a little help. If you ever want to practice on your own time all you need to do is drive your own car to the back entrance over there and show the guard on duty your credentials. You will need to get your own helmet, but other then that you can come out here whenever a class, or a test is not in session. You tighten up your turns and you can easily break into the high 90's." Collins said handing Rick his paper work back before shaking his hand and sending him on his way.

Rick saw it was only 11AM, and he had two hours before his next test for lunch, which was being held on the obstacle course next to the test track. Rick walked off the elevator headed for Jordan's office to see if she wanted to get lunch together. As he walked through the bullpen a man on a rolling char slid back from his desk to block his path. Rick looked the guy over. He was tall and as white as you could be without being see through. He looked like an extra from a J. Crew add. A pampered prince of a republican royal family. Old money. "Can I help you with something?" Rick asked with a cocky smile.

"I don't like you." The guy said.

"Well I can't help you with that, but I can take you all out to lunch to help the process." Rick said looking around at the desks in a group set aside for Jordan's team. The man seated in the desk between the Rick hater and the empty desk that would have been Rick's if not for the fact he was working for Ken gave Rick a nodding smile, as did the man seated across for him. The woman in the desk in front of the empty desk just kept raping him with her eyes.

"Just know this, Writer, I'm not impressed. Anyone can sleep there way into a new job. It doesn't mean they deserve to be here. Some of us worked hard to get here. Others just showed up. As far as I'm concerned you don't belong here and you never will." The guy said standing up and pushing his why past Rick. Rick just raised an eye brow.

"and the villain of this story will be played by that guy. Every new guy story line needs a good villain." Rick said smiling. Looking to the other people Rick asked pointing over his shoulder. "Who is he, and what's up his ass?"

"Don't pay him any attention. He's a big trust fund cry baby. And he was a friend of Richard. The guy you got sent down to the Pool. The offer of lunch sounds like a great idea though. I'm Will Warne, it looks like we're going to be neighbors from now on." The guy in the middle said standing up to shake Rick's hand. As soon as he stood up Rick had to work hard to keep a striate face. Will was a walking oxymoron. He stood a good foot taller then Rick and just as wide, but he had a very gentile way about him. His very dark skin contrasted harshly with his crisp white shirt that matched his impossible white teeth perfectly. Rick would need to ask him who his dentist was. Will's head was shaved smooth, but he had a full beard. Rick's eyes took in Will's desk and saw a Harvard diploma, and a marine corps metal display case with a silver star and two purple harts. This guy was the most complex man he would ever meet and he was also pretty sure that Will would be his new best friend in the group.

"It's nice to meet you. I hate to break it to you but I'm getting a desk over there to be closer to Ken. He's my new boss. But I'll be working cases with you guys." Rick said shaking his hand.

"That's cool. I wish I could get some time with Ken. He's a legend." Will pointed at the guy sitting across form them. "That's Dashiell Abbydawn," Will said as Dashiell stood up.

"Just call me Dash I hate my name, all of it, but I can at lest stand Dash." Dashiell said with a thick British accent while standing up to shake Rick's hand. Dash was a short stocky guy, with short brown hair and thick glasses. His desk looked like a tech toy battle ground and Rick knew he would have someone to talk to about his iPhone acting up.

"And the blond that's having mind sex with you is Olivia Moss. She's super blunt and she uses men for sex. Don't you Moss?" Will said smirking.

"Just because I like to treat men like you guys treat women doesn't make me anything other then honest." She said getting up from her chair and coming around the desk to great Rick. She was tall and thin, but curvy in all the right places. She was wearing a black suit with a very short skirt and her blue button down shirt was left open enough to see the black lace bra underneath. It was obvious she knew what she had and how to use it. But the look in her eyes told him she was not all talk. If he wasn't in a relationship, he would be very tempted. Any man would. "Olivia Moss, it's nice to meet you Rick. I've read some of your books, and I'm impressed by the level of detail." She said shaking his hand.

"I like to know what I'm writing about so I study very hard." He said shaking her hand. "Moss you said? I have a Jenifer Moss trying to make my life hell right now, is she any relation to you?" He asked with a charming smile.

"Unfortunately she's my mother." Olivia said.

"Good to know. Would you mined telling her she won't break me?" Rick asked smirking.

"Tell her yourself. I don't talk to the bitch." Olivia said shrugging.

"So what do you say guys? Lunch on me in an hour?" Rick asked.

"Sound's good to me. I'm starving." Will said rubbing his belly.

"You're always starving mate." Dash said laughing.

"You're damn right I am." Will said. "It takes a lot of fuel to run this finely crafted work of art you see before you."

"You flex any harder Will and you'll pop a button." Olivia said.

Rick took a seat in the empty desk next to Will. "So is it always this dead around here?" He asked.

"Most of the time." Will said.

"It's a good time to catch up on homework." Olivia said holding up a book.

"We're supposed the be studying, but most of the time we just hang around and wait for some action." Will said.

"Well they have me working for Ken, taking cases with you guys, and floating for white collar." Rick feeling cheated.

"Blessing and a curse Mate. That's what that is right there. You always have something to do, but you always have to be doing something." Dash said.

"True. So where are we thinking about going for lunch?" He asked.

"We had Mexican yesterday so anything else would be fine by me." Olivia said.

"And no Chinese food please." Dash said looking green.

"Dash live above a Chinese food place. He hates the smell of it." Will said.

"So no Chinese food and no Mexican food? How about some surf and turf? I know this great bistro that delivers?" Rick asked.

"Sounds good to me." Will said with a big smile.

"I'm in." Olivia said.

"Me too." Dash said looking excited.

"Great, I'll order one for everybody. No one wants to be the guy that only brings enough gum for themselves." He said counting the people in the office.

Right as he was about to call in the order Jordan walked up to him. "Burk just called. He caught a robbery in the diamond district. A place called Bloustein's jewelers. Head over there now." She said.

"On it boss." He said hoping out of his seat. "Don't worry guys, I'll still call in the order." He said patting Will on the back as he walked by him to get to the elevator.

He called Motrin's steak house and ordered twenty Surf and turf platters, five Steak dinners and five Tuna steak dinners. He had them delivered to the tenth floor care of Jordan Shaw.

He got in his car and drove out of the garage, as he pulled into traffic he thought about using the flashing lights and sirens, but he did know if this was an emergency. Then he thought about getting back while the food was still hot and hit the button on his dash. Is seconds people were moving out of his way and he was booking it up the street.

Neal looked at the smashed lock on the back door of the Jewelry store as Peter looked on. "It looks like an inside job. The lock was opened with a key and the alarm was cut, they took what they needed from the case and then broke the glass, and they broke the lock on the way out." Neal said.

"Your sure?" Peter asked.

"I'm as sure as I can be." Neal said.

Diana walked into the store. "Castle is on his way boss." She said.

"Castle? Why did you call him?" Neal asked.

"Moss is throwing the book at him and stuck him with a real crime scene, I'm going to have him look this place over and if he comes up with the same conclusions that you did then he passes his crime scene test." Peter said.

"Wow, a real crime scene his first time out of the gate." Diana said.

"Okay lets get the CSI guys out of here if they're done, I want the scene cleared so he can work. You two can stay, I what to know what you guys think about Castle. He's going to be floating for us and I want your opinion." Peter said

As soon as the CSI team left the store Rick pulled up with his light flashing and his sirens going. Diana was standing on the sidewalk and she smirked at him. "A bit much wouldn't you say?" She asked.

"I didn't know if it was an emergency?" Rick said getting out with his file.

"Well it's not. Peter's inside waiting for you." Diana said pointing to the store.

"Good to know. Richard Castle." He said holding out his hand.

"I know who you are. The whole building knows who you are Castle. Half of us are rooting for you, and the other half are just waiting for you to fail." She said.

"And what about you, rooting or waiting?" He asked.

"Undecided at the moment." She said.

"Well hopefully I can change your mind." He said pulling out rubber gloves as he walked into the store. "Hello Agent Burke, what do you have for me?" He asked looking around.

"Someone robbed this place last night. They took five pieces with an estimated value of $300,000." Peter said.

"And who was the first person to discover the robbery." Rick asked looking at the alarm wires ripped out of the wall by the back door.

"The owner Zackary Bloustine discovered the robbery this morning when he opened his shop." Peter said.

"Security tapes?" He asked pointing to the two cameras mounted in hard to see places on the ceiling.

"Are totally dark and show vague outlines of the robber dressed in black wearing a ski mask."

"So we're looking at an inside job then? Do you have a list of employees?" Rick said.

"What! How the hell did you come up with that by asked three questions?" Peter asked.

"The owner was the first person to know he was robbed? That bullshit. The Cops in the neighborhood double patrol this street at night in exchange for price cuts on jewelry for their wives and girlfriends. That means they drive by this store every five minutes, and they treat every tripped alarm like a full blown robbery. That means the alarm wire had to be cut without it going off at all. Now a pro would know these facts and try to hit this place between patrols. But not even Neal could jimmy the lock, cut the alarm wire, break the glass case, grab the five most expensive pieces in this place and get out, all in the dark, in under five minutes. They would try a smash and grab. They would hide as the cops drove by. Wait two minutes for them to get as far as their patrol route takes them and then break the front window, break the glass case and toss as much stuff as they can into a bag in fifteen seconds. They would then run out the back door and into a waiting car one street over that has nothing on it so the cops don't patrol that block. In and out in thirty seconds." Rick said looking at Neal for confirmation.

"He's right. A smash and grab is the only way to work this neighborhood…. So I've been told." Neal said with a smile.

"And if you're going to risk a smash and grab in this neighborhood you would hit Rosengold, and Sterns. They have two million sitting in a window display. You wouldn't even need to deal with finding the good stuff in the dark." Rick said pointing to the store across the street."

"He's right Peter. Those are two things I overlooked." Neal said nodding.

"So we know our robber used a key to open the back door shutting off the alarm, and then ripped the wires out of the wall. With the familiarity of someone who walks around this store an a daily bases they made their way to the case with the five most expensive pieces of jewelry in the place. They hid when the cops passed. And then they smashed the case, and busted the lock with a framing hammer. The same hammer they used to break the glass case. That means they know a regular hammer with a flat hammer face wont do the job. Inside fact only they would know." Rick said shrugging. "Now do you have an employee list?" He asked.

"Right here." Diana said handing him a piece of paper.

"Okay we're looking for a woman, about 5'8" by the height of the cut wires. She works the floor during the closing shift because she know the layout of this place in the dark and she knows the patrol schedule and she didn't work yesterday." Rick said.

"How do you know we're looking for a woman?" Diana asked.

"It took our thief five hits to break a cheap Home Depot lock because she was holding the hammer too close to the head." Rick said looking at the list. "Here we go. Catharine McMillan. Let's go pick her up and toss her place. I bet my test score you find the jewelry, the sky mask, and the hammer in her place, and that she cracks and hands them over as soon as we knock on her door." Rick said handing the list to Peter.

"Well lets go then." Peter said smiling. "Diana call in the warrant and meet us at Ms. McMillan's apartment. Neal and I will ride with Rick." Peter said walking out to Rick's car.

"You wanna drive?" Rick asked holding up the keys. 

"No you drive, act like this is your case. How would you handle this." Peter said getting in the passenger seat.

"let's see what we're working with." Rick said rolling out of his spot and blasting up the street. "She lives close by, she may have done this on foot." Rick said looking at the address.

"Does that matter?" Neal asked.

"It speaks to the fact she doesn't know what she's doing. She walked eight blocks, six if she took the ally with three hundred thousand in stolen jewels." Rick said turning the corner and coasting the a stop in a parking space across the street from her house. He cut the engine and looked at the apartment building. "Not too bad of a place. So she makes a good salary. Why risk the robbery?" Rick said to himself. "Stay here for a minute I want to check something out. It's not illegal to look inside a window if the curtains are open right?" Rick said.

"Right. You have a hunch?" Peter asked.

"I do." Rick said getting out of the car and walking across the street. He walked along the block casually and slipped into the neighbor's yard.

"What do you think Neal?" Peter asked.

"He's got good special awareness, and his instincts are spot on. I think he's got a lot of potential but he's hungry for the win. He's right, something is not right with this situation, but I have a feeling this is not going to go as easy as he thinks." Neal said pointing to Mozzie walking up the block.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Peter asked.

"No clue." Neal said.

"Go get him. Pull him into the car. He might know something."

"On it." Neal said getting out and walking up the Mozzie. "Out for a stroll Moz?" He asked.

"I am, are you with the Suit?" Mozzie asked looking around.

"I am, and this new guy Castle. We're in the black BMW in the middle of the block. What are you doing here Mozzie?" He asked.

"I may have a line on some stolen gems? Wait, did you say Castle? As in Richard Castle? The writer?" Mozzie asked trying to see into the car.

"He's not there. Come with me." Neal said walking him to the car and pushing him in. He got in with him and shut the door.

"Mozzie?" Peter said turning to look at him.

"Suit." Mozzie said.

"Why are you here? You wouldn't happen to know anything about stolen jewelry would you?" Peter asked.

"Maybe, it depends." Mozzie said.

Rick got back into the car. "She's got a kid in there, about five or six years old, and she looks skittish. Did I mention the Framing Hammer and the ski mask in the trash?" Rick said excitedly. "I don't know you." He said looking at Mozzie.

"Rick this is Mozzie, he's a friend of Neal's" Peter said.

"Mozzie from the stories last night?" Rick asked.

"Yep."

"Nice to meet you, why are you here?" Rick asked.

"No it's nice to meet you. I'm a big fan. I've read all your books, they're very detailed. I was excited when I saw you were joining the FBI, I was hoping to meet you, are you still writing, I have this idea for a book." Mozzie said shaking his hand.

"Keep it in your pants my excitable little friend. We're kind of in the middle of something right now." Rick said.

"Understood." Mozzie said nodding.

"So how do you want to play this out Rick?" Peter asked watching Diana pull around the corner.

"Let me talk to her. I think I can do this without freaking her out and making this worse." Rick said. "Can someone watch the back door in case she runs on me?" He asked getting out of the car with Peter. He met Diana by the apartment building and took the warrant. They walked up to the front door and Rick made sure to give Neal time to run around to the back door. Rick was about to knock on the door but he stopped and looked at the two of them standing behind him. "Diana can you step forwards a few feet and Peter can you hang back about three steps. You look like a fed." He said before knocking on the door. Catherine opened the door and looked panicked. "Catherine I want you to relax." Rick said looking her in the eyes. "You know who we are and you know why we're here. You're not under arrest just yet. But you are in possession of stolen jewelry, now we can come in and talk about what happened or you can panic and run and we have to arrest you and hand your son over to child services. Now can we come in?" Rick asked.

"Come in." Catherine said as tears ran down her cheeks.

"Thank you." Rick said walking into the apartment. He walked over to the boy sitting on the floor playing with toy cars. "Hi, my name is Rick, what's your name?" He asked with a big smile.

"Ollie." The boy said with a eastern European accent.

"Ollie this is my friend Diana, can you show Diana your room and your toys?" Rick asked.

"Okay." The boy said looking at Diana with a big smile.

"Come on little guy." Diana said taking his hand and walking him out of the room.

"Cute kid. Check?" Rick asked.

"Chechen." Catherine said dropping into a chair and crying.

"Let me guess, the birth mother came forward and asked for a bribe to keep Ollie?" Rick asked patting her in the shoulder.

"How did you know?" She asked looking shocked.

"It happened to a friend of mine. They adopted a little girl form Russa, they got her here to the US. Everything was going good and then boom out of no where the birth mother threatened to take the girl back if they didn't pay her off." Rick said.

"That's what happened with me! My lawyer said if I didn't come up with a hundred thousand dollars in a week they were going to take Ollie away from me." She said crying.

"Catherine, if you hand over the jewelry right now and you confess, I'm sure we can work out a deal. This is your first time committing a crime right?" Rick asked crouching down in front of her.

"It's in a black velvet bag in the cabinet next to the sink." She said.

Peter opened the cabinet and found the bag. "Got um." He said looking in the bag.

"You said your Lawyer told you to get the money? Is your lawyer Luke Donovan?" Rick asked.

"He is. He told me he needed fifty thousand to get Ollie here and then he said to keep him I needed to come up with a hundred thousand by the end of the week or he was going to have to send Ollie back." She said.

"It's the same MO as my friends." Rick walked up to Peter. "He does the same thing to everyone." Rick said.

"You think this Luke Donovan is extorting money out of desperate parents?" Peter asked.

"I do." Rick said.

"It still doesn't change the fact that Ms. McMillan rob the store. You still have to arrest her. I can, however, say she's a witness to an extortion case and that will keep her out of Jail." Peter said.

"I know a judge if you need someone to sign off on this?" Rick said.

"That might help. But she still has to come back to the office with us and go through booking." Peter said.

"Well bring the kid too and look up his file. I'll also see if my friends are willing to come in and talk, but I doubt they will, they knew they were bribing a woman to keep her kid, that doesn't look good on paper you know?" Rick said.

"I know, if this lawyer is doing this to everyone we might have to catch him in the act, it's going to be hard to get anyone to come forward with out them thinking they could lose their kid." Peter said.

"Lets go. We can get them back to the office and I can still make my one o'clock obstacle course run." Rick said looking at his watch. "Catherine, we need you to come back to the office with us so we can process the paperwork for you're arrest, but we won't be charging you formally if you help us catch Donovan." Rick said helping her up. "You will come with us voluntarily won't you? I don't want to cuff you." Rick said.

"No, I'll come with you." She said looking sad.

"Come on. We can stop and get a slice on the way back. I'm starving. You hungry?" He asked Peter.

"I can eat." Peter said walking out of the room to talk to Diana.

Ollie came running into the room. He jumped into his mother's arms with a big smile on his face.

"What about you, Ollie, do you want a slice of Pizza?" Rick asked.

"Yay!" Ollie said.

"There you have it, we're stopping for pizza." Rick said walking the two out to his car with Peter following him.

Diana and Neal watched as they drove away. "Castle is amazing." Diana said shaking her head.

"Tell me about it. He found her, talked to her for a few minutes and now we're going after an evil lawyer and not a desperate mother." Neal said shocked.

"Did you see the way he talked to her?" Diana asked.

"Calm. He's spent a lot of time in an interrogation room." Neal said.

"I have a feeling Castle is going to make our jobs easier." Diana said.

"Yeah, easier." Neal said looking worried.


	5. Chapter 5

A half hour later Rick was making his way across the monkey bars, the last obstacle of the very long course. As he dropped down off the last bar and ran for the finish line he could see two people waiting for him. Victor Garza, the guy administering the test and a tall blond in her fifties wearing a reveling dress, who was staring at him just a little too hard in his t-shirt and shorts. "Time!" Victor called as he crossed the line. "Not bad Castle, 2:47 on your first try." Victor said patting him on the back.

Rick felt like he was going to pass out and puke at the same time. He took the bottle of water Victor handed him and drained half of it in one drink.

"You look good out there Castle." The blond woman said eyeing his sweaty chest.

"You must be Jenifer Moss?" He said.

"I am. I must say you did a hell of a lot better then I thought you would, with scores like these you might only have to take two tests." She said looking over his score card.

"I would say thank you but I don't know if I would be able to say it with a straight face." Rick said holding out his hand for the file.

"True, I have pushed you hard, and I've been unnecessarily cruel to you on your first day. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you agent Castle?" She asked running her finger down his chest.

"You can hand me the file so I can go take a shower and change." He said looking at her like saw was retarded.

"Is that really all you want? Just the file?" She said holding the file under her chest so he could look at the top of her breasts on display.

"All I want is the file." He said holing out his hand for the file.

"Fine, but I'll tell you this now, if you would have just played ball with me I might have made things easier on you. I'm in charge of your testing. I could give you something like today again, or I can make passing as simple as a roll in the hey." She whispered in his ear as she handed him the file. "Think about it Rick. I can make it good for you." She said blowing on his ear.

"I'll say this once, and only once. If you make one more remark like that one I'll have my boss, Ken Carpenter write you up for sexual harassment. Special agent Moss." He said coldly as he walked away.

After showering and changing back into his suit he came back up to his office. Walking off the elevator he got a lot of 'thank you' and 'welcome to the team' from the agents as he walked over to Jordan's office and sat down in front of her desk. "Well that was the last test. Peter gave me a 98, but he said he would email you the write up." Rick said handing her the file.

"lets see, you got a 96 in the shooting range, a 90 in driving, a 98 in crime scene, and an 87 in the obstacle course. "You made it over every obstacle?" She asked looking impressed.

"All of them, the eight foot wall was a real bitch. Speaking of, Moss was waiting for me at the end of the obstacle course. She made inappropriate remarks, and tried to bribe me with easier tests next month in exchange for sex." He said.

"You're kidding?" Jordan asked.

"No, I'm not. That woman has some real issues." Rick said shaking his head.

"No kidding. Did Garza hear her make a pass at you?" She asked.

"No, she got close to me and whispered it to me so only I could hear it. She's crazy, but she's not stupid." Rick said.

"Aside for that how has your day been?" She asked.

"Peter hasn't emailed you yet?" Rick asked.

"No, not yet, why?" Jordan asked looking on her computer.

"I solved the jewelry store case and got the perp. to roll on an adoption lawyer that's extorting desperate parents." He said sitting back in his chair.

"You did all that did you?" She asked smiling.

"Oh you think I'm joking around with you? Call peter and ask him. I have to go see if Ken needs anything. I'll see you later? Or are you taking your car home?" He asked smiling.

"No I should be able to leave with you in a few hours." She said.

"Good, I was thinking about taking you and the girls out to celebrate my first day." He said.

"Sounds good to me." She said.

Rick walked out of her office and right into Will. "Hey Will. What's going on?" He said looking up at him.

"We saved you a plate. It's on your desk." He said.

"Thanks Will. I'm beat." He said dropping into the empty desk.

"So how was your first round of test?" Dash asked.

"Good. I three 90's and a high 80." Rick said cutting into his steak and it was still hot.

"I put it in the microwave, for you." Olivia said.

"Thanks. By the way I've had the misfortune of meeting your mother. Is she crazy or just reckless?" Rick asked.

"I'd say it was a little bit of both why?" She asked.

"She offered me sex in exchange for easy testing next month." Rick said causing Dash to choke on his coffee.

"You said yes right?" Dash asked.

"No I told her I would report her for sexual misconduct." Rick said.

"That was defiantly my mother. I'd watch out for her. I like sex as much as the average guy but she likes to play mental games." Olivia said.

"Damn hostage negotiators. They like playing with fire." Dash said.

Rick took a second bite and felt sick. "Wow, buddy. You okay?" Will asked.

"I don't know." Rick said feeling sick to his stomach.

"Did you just come from the obstacle course?" Will asked.

"I did." Rick said looking green.

"You got PT GUT. Did you drink a lot of water on an empty stomach?" He asked.

"Like four bottles." Rick said.

"Right, come with me." Will said pulling him out of his seat and dragging him to the bathroom. "Take off your coat and tie." Will said.

"Why?" Rick asked feeling dizzy.

"Just do it." Will said helping him get his coat off. "Now, do you trust me?"

"I guess?" Rick said pulling his tie off.

"Good enough." Will said putting his left arm around his shoulder and punching him in the gut with his right. Rick threw up all the water and the slice of pizza he eat. "There you go, let it out. You dehydrated yourself and then you drank too much water and your body couldn't process it without salt." Will said picking him up and sitting him on the counter. "You feel better?" Will asked.

"Kind of." Rick said rubbing his belly

"Splash some water on your face and sit down for a while. I'll get you a Gatorade from the vending machine." Will said walking him back to his seat.

"What happened?" Dash asked.

"PT GUT." Will said.

"Oh, it happens. Did Will punch you in the belly?" Dash asked.

"He did." Rick said holding his stomach.

"The pain goes away after awhile." Dash said.

"Here drink this, then this." Will said handing him a Gatorade and a Yoo-hoo. "Gatorade to replenish the fluids, and the Yoo-hoo to settle your tummy." He said patting him on the back."

"Thanks Will." Rick said. "You want my lunch, I can't eat it?" He said.

"Well you can't let good food like that go to waste." Will said taking the plate.

"Agent Castle." Jordan said walking up to the group. "Burke wants to…. Wow what happened to you? You look pale and sickly." She said.

"PT GUT, Ma'am" Will said.

"Is he going to be okay?" She asked.

"He'll be fine Ma'am. Just give him a few minutes." Will said.

"Good, Burke wanted to talk to you." She said. "Also, we really need to get you a phone so he can stop calling me."

"Tell him I'll be down in ten, I still have to check in with Ken and see if he needs me for anything." Rick said drinking the last of the Gatorade.

"I'll tell him." Jordan said.

Rick sat drinking his Yoo-hoo for a few minutes until he felt better. He stood up and patted Will on the back. "Thanks for that. I'm feeling good now." He said.

"You're welcome buddy. Take it easy for the next few days and try to drink two more of those." He said.

Rick walked into Ken's office. "Hey boss, do you need me for anything? I'm headed up to white collar?" He asked.

"No I'm fine. You don't need to check in with me. I'll call you when I need you." Ken said putting the file he was reading down. "How's it going so far?" Ken asked.

"I solved a jewelry store robbery today." Rick said.

"Good job Kid, but remember not to get cocky, it's your first day. Try not to be a show off. If you have something to add, add it, but if you don't know something say you don't know. Treat the agents that have been doing the job longer then you with respect and they will make sure you get credit in the report." Ken said.

"I'll remember that. I don't know what they want but if I don't get back down here by the time you leave, have a good night Ken." Rick said taking the shopping bag he left in his office.

"See you tomorrow Rick." Ken said Shaking his hand.

Rick got off the elevator and saw Neal first. "I was told you like wine?" Rick said handing him a wood box with a bottle of 1974 Bordeaux.

"Wow. This is not wine. It's a 74 Bordeaux. This bottle goes for about a thousand dollars." Neal said holding it up to the light.

"I figured why not come bearing gifts?" Rick said.

Diana walked over to them. "Whacha got there Caffrey?" She asked.

"Rick just gave me a 74 Bordeaux." He said showing her the bottle.

"Is it good?" She asked.

"It's a thousand dollars a bottle, of course it's good." Neal said setting it back in the box.

"I also have one for you." Rick said handing her a box.

"Wow, Castle, you really didn't have to get us anything but thanks. Christie is going to love this." She said.

"I didn't know you had a better half?" Rick asked.

"She's a doctor at NY general." Diana said smiling.

"A doctor? You lucked out didn't you? Dating up is great isn't it?" Rick said laughing.

"You're telling me, she makes more in a month then I make in a year." Diana said.

"One night we have to have you two over for dinner. You know the standard couples thing. The girlfriends just love doing that sort of thing." Rick said.

"It's a deal Castle." Diana said.

"Is Jones here? He's the last member of the team." Rick asked.

"He's got the day off." Diana said.

"Oh, I got him a box of ties from Armani." Rick said pulling out the box. 

"I'll hold onto those for him." Neal said eyeing the box.

"I think I should hold on to them for him." Diana said giving Neal a look.

"What? It's Armani." Neal said.

"Peter called me up here, do you know what he needed from me?" Rick asked.

"Yeah, he want's to head out to the lawyers office and he wanted you to tag along." Diana said walking him up the stairs to Peter's office. "Hey boss, Castle's here." She said.

"Hey Peter, you wanted to go check out the lawyer?" Rick asked.

"Yes, I wanted to question him, and I was hoping you would take a shot at reading him. Tell me what you think?" Peter said.

"Sure. You want to drive?" Rick asked following him out to the elevator.

"If you'll let me?" He asked excitedly.

"Go for it." Rick said tossing him the black key fob.

Rick sat in the passenger seat of his car for the first time and watched Peter start up his car and smile. "You're going to make me want one of these you know that?" Peter said pulling out of the garage.

"Life is too short to drive a crappy car Peter." Rick said pulling out his iPhone. "The Yankee's are up eight to four on the Red Socks." Rick said flipping on the satellite radio and tuning into the game.

"Now this is the life." Peter said.

"The coolest part about the car in the trunk, it's a safe with a thumb print scanner and a four digit code. As soon as I take the advanced weapons class, I'm going to get a tactical assault riffle back there." Rick said.

"That's a lot of firepower. You expecting a gun fight?" Peter asked.

"No, but after three years of walking into bad situations un-armed I'm never leaving the house without at lest one gun." Rick said laughing.

"I can see your point." Peter said. "I don't know what I like more, the smooth ride or the seats."

"The seats came from a Ferrari," Rick said.

"Ferrari?" Peter asked.

"Ever sit on Italian leather?" Rick asked.

"Never, but I like it." Peter said.

"If you ever want to take the wife out on the town you can barrow my Ferrari. It's just sitting in the garage." Rick said looking out the window. "Hey can you pull over by that store, I need another Yoo-hoo." Rick said.

"Yoo-hoo?" Peter asked.

"I had a case of PT GUT. I need to drink like three more of them to get my system back on track." Rick said getting out of the car. "You want anything? Coffee? Donut?" Rick asked.

"Coffee please." Peter said.

"Got you," Rick said walking into the store. Rick walked to the cooler in the back and got three bottles of Yoo-hoo, and a big Gatorade. He walked over to the coffee pots and set his drinks on counter when things got bad. Two biker guys walked in, the first guy pulled a Glock out of his pants and shoved it into the clerks face. "Empty the register camel jockey!" the second guy ran up to Rick with a big revolver. Rick had just seconds to think before the guy was on top of him. Rick batted the gun away with his left hand and hit the guy in the face with the coffee pot in his right hand. The first guy turned to see what was happening. When he saw his friend on the floor he popped off three shots at the back wall of coolers. Rick wipped a can of fruit cocktail into the air and the guy tracked it with his eyes. When he looked back Rick was up with his X-FIVE out. Rick shot the guy once in the arm and once in the leg before turning the to guy he hit with the coffee pot. He was still out. Rick cuffed him and ran up to the guy he shot. As Peter came through the door

"FBI Freeze!"

"Relax Peter. I got it under control. Call for a bus. We have one perp down with a possible concussion and I shot this guy twice." Rick said checking the guy's pulse. The guy Lunged at Rick. Rick hit him in the head with the but of his gun knocking him out. "Make that two concussions." Rick said sitting back on his heels.

"Are you Okay? Have you been shot?" Peter asked looking him over as he cuffed the guy on the floor.

Rick started laughing uncontrollable. "This is my first day you know?" Rick said between laughs.

"I know buddy. Were going to call an ambulance and get you to a doctor." Peter said.

"I don't need a doctor." Rick said standing up smiling. "This isn't my first gun fight Peter, relax." He said patting Peter on the back. He turned to the clerk. "Are you okay Sir?" He asked.

The old Indian man nodded. "Thanks to you I am." The guy said dropping down into the chair behind the counter. "I think I shit myself." he said.

"It happen." Rick said walking over to the first guy who was coming around. "Oh hey we have a live one." Rick said crouching down to his level. "You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, anything you sat can and will be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can not afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights? Or are you too concussed to understand a word I'm saying?" Rick asked with the biggest smile on his face.

"Owww." The guy said.

"I'll take that as a yes." Rick said lifting the guy up and dragging him to the front of the store. "I read this one his Miranda rights." Rick said beaming.

"First time?" Peter asked.

Rick nodded and felt woozy. "I think I need to throw up again." Rick said rushing to the bathroom in the back of the store.

Two black and white cop cars came screeching up and four uniformed officers jumped out with their guns out. "Relax guys. Agent Castle took care of the two perps. He's in the john praying to the porcelain gods." Peter said smirking. An ambulance rolled up and two EMTs jumped out to look at the guy on the ground

The short Hispanic cop started barking orders at the other three and the other three cops followed the ambulance to the hospital in one of the cop cars. "The guys first shoot?" The cop asked.

"Noo, it's his fifth I think. His stomach was messed up before he came in here." Peter said. Rick walked out of the john and pulled a cold Gatorade out of the cooler and drank half of it. "There he is now. Hey Rick the officer needs to take your statement." Peter said.

"Castle? Is that you?" The cop asked.

Rick looked up. "Desoto?" He asked.

"Yeah, I would ask what you've been up to since you quit the twelfth but I can clearly see your handy work." The cop said.

"Shit are we in the district?" Rick asked walking up to the front of the store.

"We are." Desoto said.

"Am I going to have to give my statement at the precinct?" Rick asked.

"I'm afraid so Castle." The cop said laughing.

"Shit." Rick said leaning against the counter.

"Why is that a problem?" Peter asked.

"He knocked out the head detective in Robbery." Desoto said.

"You're just a walking lucky rabbit's foot aren't you?" Peter said laughing at him.

"Do me a favor and call Jordan, tell her I'm at the twelfth." Rick said walking out of the store with Desoto.

"And were am I going?" Peter asked.

"The lawyers office. Just because I got into a gun fight doesn't mean the day stops. Take my car and swing by the twelfth after you get done. I should be just getting out." Rick said getting into the front seat of the Cop car.

Peter watched as the cop car pulled away. He pulled out his cell phone and then thought about something. The bastard made him call Jordan to tell her the bad news. He got off light.

Desoto picked up the Radio as soon as Rick got in the car. "Dispatch, this is car 1245. Both suspects are headed to the hospital. One of them shot. Shooting was done by a FeBe. I'm bringing said FeBe to the station for write up. FeBe's identity is Richard Castle. I Repeat, Richard Castle. Tough Guy is coming home." he said.

"Roger. 1245. Bring the fancy pants Fed back to base." The dispatcher said laughing.

Rick sat back in the seat and tried to get comfortable. "This day just keeps getting better and better." He muttered.

"Come on Castle, it's kind of funny." Desoto said laughing.

"It's really not funny at all. Is Robbery going to give me shit?" He asked.

"You know they are." Desoto said taking the long way back to the station.

"You missed the turn back there." Rick said tiredly.

"No I didn't I'm giving everybody a chance to come down to greet you." Desoto said.

"Is that really necessary?" Rick asked.

"You know it is. Be a good sport and play along." Desoto said smirking.

As they turned the corner Rick saw a group of cop standing out front of the station. "Really? Fine." Rick said getting out of the car.

"Coming through People!" Desoto said. "I got Trigger Rick!" He said.

The crowd cheered and made pot shots at the fact that he was a fed. Karpowski stepped forwards. "How many people did you shot today Trigger Rick?" She asked patting him on the back.

Montgomery called out form the back of the crowd. "Okay people. You have work to do. Move along. Nothing to see here beside an FBI agent that has shot more people then he's arrested." He said setting the crowd off again as they walked back inside. Roy walked up to him. "FBI Agent Richard Castle. It's good to see you." He said pulling Rick into a hug.

"Good to see you too. I was going to set up a poker game to get to see you guys more often but it looks like that won't be necessary." Rick said with a tired smile.

"True but I would love to join in a poker game with you." Roy said leading him up to his office. "Now what did you do Castle?" He asked.

"I went into a convince store for a Yoo-hoo and a coffee, and the place got robbed." Rick said. His iPhone rang. "Oh I have to take this." He said seeing Jordan's name. "Hey Jordan." He said in a calm happy tone.

"Don't you hay Jordan me mister. I'm coming to the station right now and you better be unhurt." She said worried.

"I'm fine Jordan. I'm sitting in Roy Montgomery's office on the fourth floor. We're just talking. I'll fill out the paperwork for the arrest and Peter is coming to get me after he finishes the meeting we were going to. You don't have to come and get me, I'm fine." Rick said.

"You are not fine. You were just in a shooting Rick." She said speeding towards the station.

"Jordan. How is it going to look if you hold my hand through everything? I just proved myself today to be a fit agent and now my girlfriend is coming to look after me." Rick said tiredly.

"Rick, this is not me stepping in to hold your hand. This is a special agent looking after a Jr. agent. It's standard protocol." She said.

"Oh, sorry Jordan. I didn't know that." He said sheepishly.

"No, I get it. You've had a big day today and you want to see it through. I'll be there in a few minutes, until then hang tight." She said.

Rick put away his phone and stood up. "She's a few block out you better call down and tell them Jordan Shaw's on her way up." Rick said.

"I'll do that." Roy said picking up his phone.

Rick looked out at the bullpen where he spent the last three years and saw it was empty. "Where is everybody?" Rick asked.

"There's a double homicide on the upper west side. Beckett and her team are covering it." Roy said coming to stand by him. "Do you miss it?" He asked.

"It's only been a few weeks Roy." Rick said smiling.

"Still it was your home for three years." He said opening the door to the office and walking out. Rick followed him. "She saved your seat. She won't let anyone sit in it." He said.

"Too little, too late." Rick said walking over to the white board. "Open case?" he asked. Looking at the crime scene photos of a teen aged girl found dead in a dumpster.

"Yeah, it came in two days ago. No ID, no finger prints in the system. Signs of prostitution. 15 GSWs. We have no leads." Roy said shaking his head.

"This is the contents of her purse?" Rick asked picking up the evidence bag from the box on Beckett's desk.

"It is, but I can't let you look at it." Roy said taking the bag from him.

"I get it. I'm out of the game here, but that candy wrapper is from those suckers I bought last year when we were working the case of that woman we found in the sewer. Remember? The husband switched the babes at birth?" Rick said.

"Yeah, I remember that case." Roy said.

"Well I got a taste for those funky suckers and the only place that sells them is the corner store down the street for that single room occupancy hotel that caters to eastern Europeans. I bet she was staying at the hotel. I'd have uni's flash her picture around that place and you'll find her room. That might open up a new angle on the case." Rick said shrugging.

"Damn!" Roy said. "Why the hell did you have to quit? It's things like that right there that kept this office going for the last three years." Roy said pissed off.

"I came here for her. When she stopped paying attention to me I stayed for the cases, when I had to beat up her boyfriend I knew I had to get out of here Roy." Rick said Writing the address of the corner store on a post-it. He stuck it to Ryan's computer.

The elevator dinged and Jordan came out looking for him. She ran up to him and kissed him. "I was so worried." She said touching his face and chest to make sure he wasn't shot.

"I'm fine. The guy didn't even shot in my direction. He shoot the coolers." Rick said.

"Has he filled out a report of the incident yet?" She asked Roy.

"Not yet we were just catching up. I'll have a detective from Robbery come up here to take his statement, and then he's free to go." Roy said going back into his office.

"I'm going to make a Coffee for the road Roy. Do you mind?" Rick asked.

"No by all means help yourself." Roy said laughing.

"What's so funny?" Jordan asked.

"I bought the espresso maker." Rick said going through the same process he had countless times over to make the perfect cup of cappuccino. "You want one?" He asked pouring it into a paper cup.

"Sure." She said taking the cup form him as he made another one. "Do you miss it?" She asked.

"The espresso maker? You're damn right I do. We need to get one for the office." Rick said smiling sadly.

"You know what I mean." She said.

"Yes and no. I miss the familiarity of this place. I miss the comfort of my chair, and the banter with the team, but I don't miss the lack of power. Of respect given to my contributions to the case. With my new job I have those things, and the other stuff will come with time. This place wasn't always this comfortable you know? It took time. In a month I'll feel the same way about our office as I do about this place." Rick said pouring the cappuccino into a paper cup.

"Hey Castle, you want to give your statement or what?" Demming asked from the bullpen.

"Of all the cops." Rick muttered before taking a calming breath. "Hey Tom." He said walking out of the break room.

"Hey, Castle." Demming said awkwardly.

Rick saw the awkwardness and smiled. "It's different now. We don't have anything to fight over. Were just a Police officer and an FBI agent now." Rick said walking up to him. "Let's shake hands and get on with this statement. Then we'll part ways and we'll both know we won." Rick said taking Jordan's hand.

Tom thought about it and nodded. "You're right." Tom said holding out his hand.

Rick shook it and motion them over to the conference room table. "Let's get this over with, I still have some daylight left and I want to get back to my case." Rick said.

"I understand, I've got a full load downstairs." Tom said pulling out a few forms. "So what happened?" He asked.

"At a little after two, I walked into a convince store on the corner of 10th and 45th. I got a few things out of the back cooler and stopped at the coffee pots. That's when the two guys came in. The bigger guy stayed at the counter and pulled a Glock19 on the clerk demanding all the money in the register. The second perp ran up to me and shoved the .357 revolver in my face. I batted the gun away and hit him in the face with the coffee pot knocking him out. The first perp turned to see what happened to his friend and let off three shots into the back coolers. I was crouch behind the back shelves. I took a can of fruit cocktail off the shelf and tossed it into the air. The guy followed the can with his eyes and I shot him in the arm and leg to put him down. At that point agent Peter Burke came in to access the situation having heard the shots fired. I cuffed the guy I hit with the coffee pot and went to check on the guy I shot. He attempted to punch me so I hit him with the butt of my gun in a defensive swing. Agent Burke cuffed him and called for back up." Rick said.

Tom nodded along to the story and wrote it all down. "Very good. All I need you to do is sign here after you read it over and you'll be good to go." Tom said handing the form over.

Rick looked it over and nodded. "Besides misspelling the word defensive, you put two F's, it's all good." Rick said signing the report.

"I always do that." Tom said shaking his head. "This is your copy to give to your boss, you should get a call from us when the trial date is set for those two. You might be called in to testify, but I doubt it, these two are three time losers." Tom said standing up.

"I'll keep an eye out for it." Rick said handing the carbon copy form to Jordan. Rick stuck out his hand. "Thanks Tom." He said.

"No thank you Richard. You made this a lot less, awkward." Tom said.

"I'll see you around." Rick said taking Jordan's hand and walking to the elevator. The doors opened and Rick took one last look around the room before getting on.

Ten minutes later the team got back. "I need you two to run the prints and find out if the Uni's found anything in the dumpsters around the neighborhood." Kate said rolling a new white board over to her desk.

Roy walked out of his office. "You guys just missed Castle." He said. Getting their attention. "He was just here. Desoto pulled him in. two dirt bags tried to rob a convince store and Castle was getting coffee. He clocked one guy with a coffee pot and shot the other guy in the arm and leg." He said smiling.

"That's my boy!" Esposito said fist bumping Ryan.

"Was he injured?" Kate asked.

"Not a scratch. He also gave you a lead on the dead girl you guys found in the dumpster a few days ago. He wrote the address of the run down hotel you guys canvassed about a year back looking for the dead woman you pulled out of a sewer. He said the only place that sells the candy in her purse is the corner store down the street from that hotel." Roy said smirking.

"You've got to be kidding me?" Kate said picking up the evidence bag. "Those nasty suckers that taste like soap!" She said kicking Castle's old chair. "God damn it! I hate that man!" She yelled.

Esposito and Ryan shared a smile.

Peter was coming out of the lawyer's office when he got a call from Jordan. "Hey peter." Rick said. "I need to put your number into my phone. Anyways, Jordan got me form the station and were headed back to the office. Did you met the lawyer? Is he dirty?" Rick asked.

"I met him and he's dirty alright. I just know it, but he's claming no responsibility for asking her for the cash. He's claming the birth mother is real and we can't get him for doing his job. Were going to have to find a way to get him." Peter said.

"I'll meet you back in your office and we'll talk it out. We'll find a way to get him." Rick said.

"Let's hope so. If we can't get this guy, then McMillan goes down for the robbery." Peter said.

"We'll find a way." Rick said. "See you in a bit." Rick said.

Peter hung up and got into Rick's car. He sank into the leather seat and sighed. "Rick, you're making me want this car." He said hitting the start button and pulling out of his spot.


	6. Chapter 6

Rick shook his head as he handed Jordan her phone back looking thoughtful. "Well this sucks." He said to himself.

"You guys trying to find a way to catch that crooked lawyer?" She asked.

"We are. Technically, if he calms the birth mother asked for the money he can't get in trouble. We need to get him to admit he's the one coming up with the scam to extort the parents." Rick said.

"Wow, that's truly a horrible crime. He threatens parents and he can get away with it." She said.

"He's just doing his job." Rick mocked.

"Can't you guys check his bank records and see if he's stashing the cash?" She asked.

"We can't because he deals in cash. The only time he deals in traceable funds is the fifty thousand he charges to take your case, and that's totally legit." He said. "And worse yet I caught Catherine McMillan today for the robbery. So not only is this guy getting away with extortion I arrested the desperate mother. It's on my head if we can't get these charges to stick." Rick said looking sick and angry.

"It's not your fault she robbed the store she works at. That's on her. You just did your job Rick." She said trying to comfort him.

"I know but if I was in that same situation I would have done the same thing. I think anyone would have done it. She staged a good robbery. The insurance would have covered the cost of the stolen pieces. She did almost no real dame to the store, they could have reopened in a day." He said.

"Yes but she did do something, she took the jewelry. Just because her goals were noble doesn't change the fact that she did rob the store. Look Rick, if you're going to be in law enforcement, then you're going to have to make peace with the fact that you're going to arrest someone for breaking the law even though you don't really think they've done anything morally wrong. In the venn diagram of crime and moral wrongness the two circles don't overlap all the way. You can have crimes committed without morally being wrong just like you can do things that are morally wrong with out them being criminal. Technically you could get shit-faced drunk and yell horrible things at your spouse and as long as you don't lay a finger on them it's not a crime. We can't arrest someone for being an ass hole." She said sadly.

"I know, I just feel so wrong. One time we had to arrest this nice old man for killing his son in law after he figured out that same son in law killed his missing daughter. I tried so hard to convince Beckett to let the old man go. He was raising his two orphaned grand kids with his wife and we arrested him." Rick said.

"Some days we catch killers, some days we can't find them and they get away with the crimes they commit, and some days we arrest nice people for doing the first wrong they ever committed in their life. You don't think I have countless stories of people messing up for the first time, and ending up in jail for a long time? We all have the arrest we wish we could take back, but that's not up to us. The best thing we can do is plead for mercy from the courts. I've done it before. About ten years ago I arrested a man named Marcus Freemen. He was a grade school teacher in Bed-sty. He was a good man, you know the type that tried to keep his student off the streets and teach them to make it out of the neighborhood alive. One day three gang bangers raped and killed his wife in an alley. The cops couldn't prove it was them, but they knew they did it. So when they turned up dead the cops didn't look too hard for the killer. Then I found the cold case file one day during my time floating for cold case. Before Ken took it over it was what agents did for punishment. I mouthed off to my boss and got stuck in a file room. I figured a win would get me out of that room. So I found the case file sitting on a pile. In about ten minuets I tracked the evidence back to Marcus. It took just an hour to haul him in. He cracked under light questioning ten minutes after that. He started crying in the room and asking me if I would have done the same thing. I would have. I would have killed those three scum bags in a heart beat but it was too late for him. He was in an interrogation room on tape admitting to three counts of pre-meditated murder. He got ten years in prison. He made it three months before getting shived by a gang member looking to settle the score." Jordan said softly. "I still think about Marcus some times. I think about what would have happened if I had just grabbed a file off the top of another pile? If I would have looked at the file just a few more minuets longer before rushing off to get the win." She said wiping a tear form her eye with the back of her hand. "Like I said, sometimes this job is all about putting away bad guys, but sometimes it arresting good people for doing bad things." She said.

Rick took her right hand and kissed her. "Thank you for telling me that. I know it wasn't easy for you." He said. "I'll go slower next time and look at all the fact before I rush off to arrest someone." He said.

"No Rick. The point of the story wasn't to get you to slow down. You're doing good. Keep up that pace. Keep that level of good work up. If you slow down it could cost someone their life. I'm not telling you to slow down. I'm saying, sometimes solving a murder isn't always going to lead you to a bad guy. Sometimes it leads you to a grade school teacher. Don't ever slow down. Don't ever quit on a case. Don't ever ease up. Because for every Marcus Freemen I've arrested I've put away a hundred truly evil scumbags. When you get a Marcus Freemen you make a vow to balance the scales by finding a Niki Heat Killer, or an East Coast Straggler. You do your damn job, and you do it well. It's what I hope you take away form all this babbling I'm doing." She said smiling a sad smile.

"I will Jordan. I'll do my job." Rick said nodding as he thought about Catherine, was she going to be his first Marcus Freemen? He hoped not. He hoped they could find something to pin on the lawyer. If they couldn't pin something on the lawyer he would hire the best attorney he could find to help Catherine. He nodded to himself. He would do his job but he would also buy the best defense he could for the not so guilty people he arrested. Rick's phone rang and he saw it was Esposito. "Hey Espo, how's it going?" Rick said.

"How's it going? You shot a guy!" Esposito said laughing.

"Not to mention you brained another guy with a coffee pot!" Ryan said. They must have been on speaker phone.

"I had to do what I had to do. The guy was waving gun in my face." Rick said smirking.

"Man did those two pick the wrong store to rob. Our boy was there to put them down hard! Tirgger Rick, fastest gun in the FBI!" Esposito said.

"I'm not proud of the fact I had to shoot that guy, but he was shooting blindly. He was bound to hit me or get crazy and turn on the clerk." Rick said.

"We're not calling to give you crap Castle," Ryan said. "We're calling to say thanks for the lead on the Jane Doe. We're headed to the hotel now. Hopefully we can get a name on our vic and contact her family at least."

"You guys have no real leads on her killer?" Rick asked.

"None." Esposito said. "She was killed some time between ten and midnight two nights ago and dropped in the dumpster. We don't know where she came from, or where she was killed. All we have is a body full of holes found in a dumpster."

"That sucks. She was someone's little girl at some point and now she's a statistic." Rick said.

"You have a vested interest in the case now bro, you want us to call you and tell you how it ends?" Esposito asked.

"I got a better idea, how about lunch tomorrow if we're all free?" Rick asked.

"We'll call you tomorrow and set it up. Until then don't shoot anyone else." Ryan said hanging up.

Rick laughed as he put away his phone. "That was Ryan and Esposito, they called to thank me for the lead I left for them. They're checking it out now." Rick said smiling.

"You miss them don't you?" She said smiling.

"More then anything else about my old job. Those two and their foolishness really made things fun." Rick said.

"It's good you're keeping in touch with them. You should invite them over some time. Keep them connected to your life. Just because you guys are on two different teams doesn't mean you guys are on different sides of the law now. You should be able to talk shop with them." She said patting him on the leg.

"I was going to start a weekly poker game for my old team and my new team. Like Cops and Feds. We can chat about cases and shoot the shit. What do you think?" Rick asked.

"Will you be inviting Kate to the game?" She asked.

"I wasn't planning on it. Why?" He asked turning to look at her.

"You should you know. You're inviting her team and you're not inviting her. It's bad form Rick." She said.

"You really want Kate to be there?" Rick asked looking at her like she was crazy.

"Why not? It's not like I feel threatened by her. She had a shot at you, and now it's gone. She knows that. You should invite her to the game, if she shows up treat her like the old friend she is. You worked along side her more then you did those two guys. If she doesn't come then it's on her. Your conscious is clear." Jordan said as she pulled into the garage.

"You're right. Just because we had a falling out doesn't mean we shouldn't speak to each other ever again. But I can tell you now she won't come. She's too damaged to recover from our last fight this soon. It's going to be a while before we can be in the same room and not feel awkward around each other." Rick said as they rode the elevator up. The doors opened on ten and Jordan got out she turned and looked at him confused. "I'm still working a case upstairs, remember?" He said holding the doors open.

"Sorry I forgot you're still working with Peter. I'll come up to get you in two hours so we can go get the girls and take them out." She said touching his hand.

"See you in two hours." He said smiling.

Jordan walked into the office bull pen and was meet by her Jr. agents watching one of the TV's hanging on the wall. "What's going on?" She asked walking up to the group.

"Did Rick really just do this?" Will asked pointing to the TV.

Jordan got closer and saw the CCTV footage of Rick in the convenience store. "What is this, the news?" She asked.

"It's a web story running on all the major news sites. I put it up on the TV so everyone could see it." Dash said.

"Restart it." Jordan said getting to the front of the group. 

The clip restarted and Jordan saw Rick walk in to the store. That's when the voice over started. "Breaking news, Famous writer turned FBI agent Richard castle foiled a convenience store robbery on his first day on the job just minutes ago. This frottage we obtained form the convenience store owner, Arthur Patel shows Castle trying to pour a cup of coffee when two armed gunmen charge into the store. Castle, seen in the right hand corner of the top of your screen takes the first gunman down using the coffee pot." The voice over states and in the office the agents groaned and cringed when Rick hits the guy. "The second gunman shoots wildly as the author turned agent distracts him with a jar and shoots the man twice. Once in the arm and once in the leg putting the second gunman down. That's when back up arrives. We tried to reach the Author for a comment…" Dash hit pause. "They just rehash the details of the article from yesterday after that." Dash said.

"Well Rick is going to love this." She said shaking her head. "Guys listen up. Agent Castle is already under the microscope as it is. He does not need you guys adding to his stress by drawing attention to this matter. He was just doing his job. He did what any of you guys would have done if you were in the same situation. Please don't bug him about this." She said.

"We would never bug the new guy Ma'am. Rick is a good guy so far. We were just shocked." Will said.

"Well don't be too shocked. This is the reason I recruited the man. I know some of you think he got this job because he's sleeping with me. Well as you can see that's not the case. I brought him in to the office because he was sitting at home wasting his talents when he got dropped by the NYPD. Agent Castle scored three high 90's and a high 80 in his test today. He also solved a jewelry store robbery, and stopped a convenience store robbery. He's upstairs working with white Collar division to take down a crooked adoption lawyer shaking down parents for cash. Today is his first day. For any of you people that still think he slept his way into this office I'd think about what you accomplished today and ask yourself. Who belongs here more you, or him?" She said pointing to the screen showing Rick with his gun out in the middle of the store. "Now get back to work!" She said walking into her office to call the girls.

"Hey mom, what's up?" Kelly asked.

"Is Alexis with you? Can you put the phone on speaker?" Jordan said.

"Sure mom, what's going on?" Kelly asked.

"Alexis, your father did great on his first day of work, he got really good test scores, and he solved a jewelry store robbery. After all that he was going to question a suspect with uncle Peter when they stopped off at a convenience store. Your dad went in and two guys tried to rob the store. Your father is fine. But he beat one guy senseless and he shot the other guy in the arm and leg. They have footage from the CCTV cameras on the internet, and I wanted to tell you about it first before you two saw it." Jordan said.

"I… I just don't know what to say." Alexis said.

"You don't have to say anything sweetie, but you might want to let your grandmother know what happened before someone tells her." Jordan said.

"Good idea, I'll call her now." Alexis said.

"We're getting out in a couple of hours and we're taking you girls out to celebrate Rick's first day. I'll see you girls in a couple of hours. I love you both." Jordan said.

"We love you too mom." Kelly said.

Ten minutes earlier Rick got off the elevator on the twenty-first floor and was met by everyone around Neal's desk watching something on his computer. He walked over and saw the CCTV footage over Diana's head. "Oh great." He said rolling his eyes. Everyone turned to look at him and Diana started clapping. In seconds everyone was clapping and Rick wanted to jump out of a window. "Stop! Just stop clapping! I didn't do anything you guy wouldn't have done in the same situation. Now can we all go back to work? We have a Lawyer extorting parents by threatening their kids. Lets work on that and forget this ever happened okay?" He said before walking up to Peter's office and plopping down into the chair in front of Peter's desk. Diana and Neal followed him up.

"Hey Rick, we were just trying to say good job we didn't mean to make you feel embarrassed or anything." She said patting him on the back.

"I know, it's just, I'm trying my best to fit in and every time I turn around I feel like I'm sticking out like a sore thumb." He said running his hands over his face.

"I can totally understand that Rick but you're never going to blend in with a crowd of agents because your not a regular agent, and that's not a bad thing. Regular agents don't make big arrests, they don't solve important cases, and they don't have worthwhile careers." She said smiling. "Don't try too hard to be normal, just be yourself, and let the other agents try to match you." She said patting him on the cheek.

"You have to remember Rick, Peter, Jordan, even your boss Ken, they all stuck out in a crowd. That's why they have big offices and run divisions." Neal said smiling.

"True." Rick said smirking. "Thanks guys. I'm just having kind of a weird day." Rick said.

"Where's Peter?" Diana asked.

"He took my car and went to talk to the lawyer while I went back to my old station to fill out paperwork. He should be coming back soon. The bad news is, the lawyer is playing the innocent party card. He's calming the birth mother came forward asking for the money and not him so we can't touch him. We have to find another way to get this guy." Rick said.

"What we need to do is catch him in the act of lying. Then we can get him in a room and keep working him until he cracks. You worked Catherine over this morning, could you do it to this guy?" Neal asked.

"No, he's a lawyer, he knows what's legal and what's not. I can't trick him into talking. What we need to do is get him on tape lying about a birth mother we know doesn't exist." Rick muttered.

"What was that last bit?" Diana asked.

Rick looked up at Diana and Neal standing next to each other. He pulled out his wallet and took the picture of Alexis playing in a sand box at age three out and handed it to Diana. "Meet Anna, age three. She's stuck in Russia, and you're willing to pay anything to get her home to Ney York where she belongs. You two are, after all, a wealthy couple, aren't you?" Rick asked laughing.

"You want us to walk into his office with a fake kid and see if he hit's us up for money like he did with the other parents?" Diana asked smiling.

"Yes and we'll know he's lying because little Anna doesn't exist. Once we have him lying on tape, we can convince other parents to come forward. Once they see they got screwed over by this guy they will do everything they can to help us. All of their kids are here legally. They all have green cards. So there's no down side for them, plus they might be able to sue him after we're done with him to get there money back. He'll be totally ruined and we can let McMillan off with something like house arrest." Rick said excitedly.

"Alright Rick! Now were talking." Neal said excitedly.

"Sounds good to me but we have to run it by the boss first. Then maybe you'll tell us who your friend is that got hosed by this lawyer." Diana said.

"I don't think you'll get him and his wife. This is going to be too high profile for him to come forward but once we get him we can subpoena his records and contact the other parents." Rick said.

"Fine, but why are you being secretive around us? Were not going to make him come forward." She said confused.

"I know but we might need him to stay anonymous in case we need a good JUDGE." Rick said looking her in the eyes.

"Ooooh. Yeah I can see why he would want to stay out of this." Diana said.

"I wonder what's taking Peter so long?" Rick asked looking at his watch. When he looked up he saw Peter get off the elevator with a beautiful red head. "Who's the ball of fire on two legs?" He asked pointing out the window.

"Sara Ellis. Neal's favorite insurance investigator." Diana said and Neal looked panicked for a split second before his face went back to calm.

"What did you do?" Rick asked smiling.

"Nothing." Neal said looking too innocent.

"Right. My next question is did you do it too get her attention. You know, like pulling a girl's pig tails because you like her?" Rick asked laughing.

"That's not funny." Neal said.

"Sure it is." Diana said laughing.

"NEAL!" Peter called out as he made his way up to his office with Sara hot on his heels.

"Hey Peter. What's going on." Neal said.

"You stole a package from my house. A package from the FAA. I want it back." She said getting in his face.

"Sara I'm sure Neal didn't take anything." Peter said handing Rick his key back.

"I want him to submit to a lie detector test." She said holding up the black case in her hand.

"I'm sure that wont…" Peter started to say but Neal cut him off.

"Sure." He said shocking everyone but Rick who saw him take a tack from Peters desk. "I'll take the polygraph. I didn't do anything." Neal said.

"Okay," Peter said shocked. "You can use the conference room." Peter said waving them into the room next door. "We'll give you two some space." Peter said motioning for Rick and Diana to follow him out of the room. Peter lead them over to Neal's desk.

"Do you think he did it boss?" Diana asked.

"I'm pretty sure." Peter said.

"I know he did it." Rick said. They turned to him. "He took a tack from your desk. He's going to cheat the polygraph, and she knows he will. It's why she smiled when he agreed. Neal's playing a very dangerous game with her, and I'm not going to get in the way. We'll just have to proceed with out him for now." Rick said shrugging.

"Proceed with what?" Peter asked.

"Rick came up with a sting to get Donovan to lie on tape. We go in as a couple having adoption issues with a fake kid and when he hits us up for money we know he's lying because there is no birth mother. There's no kid at all." Diana said.

"Good thinking. Who's going in as the couple?" Peter asked.

"Well it was going to be Diana and Neal, but with Neal playing cat and mouse games with the fiery red head up there I think you better call Jones back to work." Rick said watching Neal smile and Sara get angry.

"I think you're right." Peter said shaking his head.

"I've been in an antagonizing relationship before and it did not end well." Rick said watching as Neal made Sara go cold and pack up her things. "She's going to get him arrested again." Rick said.

"I know, but he wont stop looking into the explosion that killed his girlfriend. He broke out of jail to see her. He's not going to stop now that she's dead." Peter said.

"Then why is he playing with her?" Rick asked.

"Neal has always been a bit reckless." Peter said.

"Do you want me to talk to him?"

"Do you really think you can talk to him? You've known him for one day." Peter said.

"I can try." Rick said shrugging.

"Go for it, but if he locks you out, stay out." Peter said.

"I understand." Rick said walking up to the conference room. "You used a tack?" Rick asked shutting the door behind him.

Neal looked at him blankly for a second. "I did." He said tossing the tack onto the table.

"Did you take the package?" Rick asked.

"No." Neal said truthfully.

"But you have it right?" Rick asked.

"I might. Are you going to arrest me?" Neal asked.

"No, I'm done arresting people today." Rick said dropping into a chair. "What's in the package?"

"Cockpit voice recording from the plane." Neal said confused as to why he was telling him anything.

"You listen to it yet? You have any leads we can run down? I've heard the story from Peter. I can help you find her killer." Rick said watching him across the table.

"I haven't opened it yet." Neal said Looking back at him. "Why are you here anyways? What's it matter to you?"

"I'm just here to ask you if you really want to keep playing with fire?" Rick asked shrugging.

"What are you talking about?" Neal asked looking out the window.

"Two people get into a room and the sparks start flying and it ends in one of two ways. You have a fight or you have sex. Relationships like that are fun, for a while, then you find yourself fighting more and more. Until one day you stop talking to each other." Rick said calmly.

"What do you know?" Neal asked turning to look at him. "You've been here one day! You think you can come in here and tell me how to live my life after one day?" Neal asked standing over Rick.

"I don't think I can tell you anything. You're a man child. If I tell you what to do you'll rebel and end up doing something stupid. You know I'm right because you've done it before haven't you?" Rick asked.

"What's it to you anyways?" Neal asked getting defensive. "You don't even work in this office, you have no vested interest in the things that go on here." Neal said getting loud.

"Keep fighting. Continue keeping secrets. Lie to everyone you know. Steal things, and hide them away, but one day soon things are going to come to a head and then what? Your girlfriend is dead. You've been to prison twice now, and now you're stealing the mail of the one woman that wants to put you away and rip your clothes off at the same time. You have to chose what you do next, but every time you fuck up and go back to jail Peter takes it the hardest. The man and his wife treat you like a son. You have a good thing going here. Good clothes, good food and good people that care about you. Even a woman that likes playing the game with you. I know you want to find Kate's killer, but ask yourself this. Why the hell haven't you opened the package and listened to the recording?" Rick asked standing up and walking out of the room leaving Neal staring at the chair he was sitting in. Rick walked by Peter on the way to the elevators. "I'll see you tomorrow Peter. I'm headed back down to my office." Rick said patting him on the back.

"What did you tell him?" Peter asked looking up at the conference room.

"What he needed to here." Rick said turning back to look too. "Give him a minute and go up there and treat him like an agent. Tell him about tomorrow and say we're sending Jones and Diana in stead of him to keep him in reserve in case this doesn't work." Rick said smiling.

"What is that going to do?" Peter asked.

"He wants to do good but he feels like a criminal. Treat him like an Agent and he'll act like it." Rick said walking to the elevator.

Peter walked into the conference room. "Hey Neal, were going to run that sting operation tomorrow, but I'm calling in Jones to play couple with Diana, I'm holding you in reserve in case this doesn't work and we have to come at it a different way." Peter said smiling.

"What?" Neal asked looking up at him.

"Tomorrow, I'm sending in Jones with Diana in stead of you. I keeping you in reserve incase we have to try something else." Peter said walking around the table to stand next to him. "Are you okay Neal? Sara didn't rattle your cage that much did she?" He asked smirking.

"No Peter, I think I'm going to head home. I'll see you tomorrow." He said shaking his head.

"Do you want a ride? You look out of it. I can drop you off and surprise Elle buy coming home before six. Come on." He said patting him on the arm.

"Yeah, Peter. I'll meet you by the elevators." Neal said walking out of the room.

Rick walked off the elevator and Will was on him instantly. "How are you doing?" He asked.

"Good. This wasn't my first shooting you know?" Rick said patting the bigger man on the shoulder as he made his way to his desk.

"Have you eaten anything since I punched you?" He asked sitting down at his desk next to him.

"No. I did have another Gatorade and a cappuccino." Rick said nodding the Dash and Olivia.

"Here, eat this." Will said reaching into his desk and pulling out a cliff bar. "You should be able to keep it down. I'd stick to light foods for a few days though." Will said.

"Thank you doctor Warner. I keep that in mind when I kill a huge double bacon cheese burger tomorrow for lunch." Rick said trying the cliff bar.

"Double bacon cheese burger?" Will asked looking hungry.

"They make it really good at this pub I'm going to tomorrow for lunch. It's the best in the city. You guys want me to bring you some back?" He asked.

"I'm in if you let me buy you lunch on Friday." Will said nodding.

"Me too, we should work out a rotation." Olivia said looking up from her book.

"Is that the same book?" Rick asked.

"No, is a shooting manual." Olivia said.

"Shooting manual? You can't learn shooting by reading about it." Rick said.

"That's what I've been telling her but she won't listen to me." Will said. "She needs to spend more time at the range downstairs. Both of them do." Will said pointing at Dash.

"I do good enough to pass the range test." Dash said.

"So do I. It's just cracking the high 70's that's keeping me back." Olivia said.

"You both use the standard issue Sig 229?" Rick asked.

"We do." Dash said pulling his gun out of his desk.

"Do you think it's the gun?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know, but it might be part of it. What do you carry Will?" Rick asked.

"My Beretta M9 for my time in the Marines." Will said pulling his gun form it's holster on his hip.

"Now that's a good gun. I love the action and feel of it. I put fifteen shots in to a hole the size of a quarter with one of these." Rick said taking Wills gun, dropping the mag, and racking the slide. Have you ever handled an M9 before?" Rick asked handing the gun to Olivia.

"No, I only ever fired my gun." She said feeling the weight of the gun. "I like the way this gun feels." She said handing it over to Dash.

"Yeah, this feels a lot better then my Sig." Dash said looking down the sights.

"That's because the M9 is the easiest gun in the world to shoot if you hold it right." Rick said handing the gun back to Will

"I've had this gun since my first deployment back in 2003" Will said putting the mag back in and putting it away.

"You see the way he treats his gun? That's they way you two have to be. That gun will save your life one day. I've had my gun less then 24 hours and it's already save my life once." Rick said pulling out his X-FIVE.

"Wow, that thing is beautiful." Will said taking it and clearing it.

"It's an X-FIVE." Rick said handing his empty gun around.

"This is even nicer." Dash said.

"Yeah, where did you get it?" Olivia asked.

"I know a gun dealer. You know as federal agents you can buy a new gun when ever you want right?" Rick asked.

"I didn't know that." Dash said.

"You know what? We should go gun shopping tomorrow if nothing is going on. I'll take you to my club and call John. He'll bring over a bunch of guns for you guys to try and if one really strikes your fancy I'll buy it for you. You never know, one day I might need you to cover my back and I'm going to want you to be able to shoot straight." Rick said putting his gun away.

"Sounds like fun." Will said.

"You're invited too my large friend. We'll get you an X-FIVE." Rick said.

"Are you sure, I mean that thing looks expensive." Will said.

"Sure, what's a few bucks when dealing with life and death?" Rick said. "As for you two, a new gun might help you out a little bit but if you don't practice every day you're not going to get better. I can't tell you how many rounds I've fired over the course of my life time. There was a point, back when I first got into my club that I would go there everyday and burn through a 100 round box of ammo. I did that for a few years. It helped me with writer's block." Rick said.

"Wow, I don't think I've fired more then a few hundred rounds total." Dash said.

"You two need to get down to the range more to get better. FBI issues a few hundred rounds of ammo to Jr. agents each year. You are supposed to use that ammo to get better." Rick said. "Is there anything else you guys are having trouble with? Maybe we can trade knowledge. I know I have a theory test in a week and I'm scared shitless." Rick said.

"I could help you with that, I've been raised on theory." Olivia said smiling.

"Alright, now we're talking!" Rick said. "Any one else? Will I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say you're good at running the obstacle course?" Rick asked.

"My record is 1:43." Will said.

"I'm sure not all of that is physical. Some of the time shaved off is the way you tack each obstacle." Rick said.

"I don't think I have anything I'm good at." Dash said.

"I'm sure there's something you can contribute to the study group. Even if it's just bringing the coffee and donuts. So what do you guys say? Study at my house every week until we all double pass each test?" Rick said looking around.

"I'm in, I need help on the written portion." Will said.

"Me too." Rick said.

"And we need help on the practical." Olivia said pointing to Dash.

"That's what I like to here." Jordan said walking over to the group. "Team work. It's why we sit you guys in groups like this." She said.

"I think we should have a study session on Saturday, and have a porker game that night?" Rick said looking at the group.

"Sounds good to me." Will said.

"Me too." Olivia said smiling.

"It's not like I have anything to do that night." Dash said.

"Then it's set. I'll invite some of my cop buddies to the game and we can talk cases." Rick said looking at Jordan.

"I'm in, you guys can pick my brain if you like." She said putting her hands on Rick's shoulder. "We have to go get the girls." She said to him.

"Right, that's my cue to hang up my badge for the day. See you guys tomorrow." Rick said standing up to leave, the group all called out good night, as Rick and Jordan walked to the elevators.

Jordan looked at him as they took the elevator down to the garage. "So how did you like your first day?" She asked smirking.

"It was pretty uneventful." Rick said laughing.

"And I thought your biggest hurdle for today was going to be your test." She said.

"I still can't believe I shot that biker guy today." Rick said getting behind the wheel of his car. Jordan got in next to him and shook her head.

"I can't believe it ether." She said.

"Where are we going with the girls to celebrate?" Rick asked as he drove out of the garage and on to the street.

"I was thinking somewhere quite that has no chance of being held up." Jordan said laughing.

"I see my almost dieing is funny to you." He said affronted.

"It's just crazy." She said "If Tim gives you crap after today then there's no helping him." She said taking his hand.

"Yeah, lets hope tomorrow will be less eventful." Rick said smiling.


	7. Chapter 7

The alarm clock rang and Rick rolled over to hit it. He rolled back and held Jordan again. "I don't want to get up. I just want to lay here. Yesterday should count as a whole week." Rick said tiredly.

"If life rewarded you on accomplishments yesterday you would have stayed up long enough to at lest fool around with me or something. We came in here, got naked and by the time I came out of the bathroom you were knocked out." She said kissing him.

"I was so dead tired yesterday. Between not being able to eat right and everything I did I could barely get my pants off before dropping off." Rick said running his hand over her body.

"You know, I could get used to this." She said rolling over to get better access to him.

Just as things were getting interesting the girls knocked on the door. "Hey, are you two decent in there?" Kelly asked through the door.

"Hold on a second." Jordan said laughing as she untangled herself from Rick. She got out of bed and tossed him his boxers and put on his discarded dress shirt on the way to the door. She looked back to make sure Rick got his shorts on before opening the door. "Hey you two." She said seeing the two holding trays of food.

"We figured we'd try doing breakfast in bed again." Kelly said handing her tray to her mother.

"Thanks girls." Jordan said sitting back on the bed. "Did you two eat yet?" She asked.

"We shared Dad's eggs and bacon when we remembered he can't eat too much." Alexis said handing her dad a plate of toast, and a big glass of green juice. "This is one of Gram's juice mixes for a hang over. She said it would work for you too."

"Great." Rick said sarcastically as he stared at the green abomination.

"It's not bad, we had some to try. It's really good if you drink it fast." Kelly said with a big smile as she plopped down on the foot of the bed.

"And you can wash it down with this big glass of OJ." Alexis said looking at the clock. "The paper should be here by now. I'll go get it." She said running out of the room.

Rick took a drink and looked green. "It's that bad?" Jordan asked seeing his face.

"Try it." He said handing her the green juice and taking a strip of bacon off her plate.

"Hay did you just steal my bacon?" She said indigently.

"Maybe?" He said with the strip half hanging out of his mouth with a big smile.

Alexis can into the room reading the front page. "This is really going to make some people angry." Alexis said handing the paper over to her dad.

Rick saw the headline and rolled his eyes. "Castle Shoots Corner Store Robber." He read out loud. "Really? I would have went with Castle Caps Convenience Store Crook. These people have no flare for alliteration." Rick said shaking his head.

"They're reporters Rick, not novelists." Jordan said around a bite of eggs.

"True, lets see if they get the fact right. Richard Castle, former writer turned FBI agent foiled a robbery, bla, bla, bla, Here we go, This should silence some of his critics. His quick thinking and even quicker trigger finger showed us he is more then qualified for the job of lawman. Now that's what I'm talking about." Rick said eating a piece of toast.

"It's better then two days ago where they said you slept your way into the FBI. That one I found particularly insulting." Jordan said.

"If your done with that I'll take it." Alexis said grabbing the paper.

"New found love of print journalism?" Rick asked.

"No. I'm going to cut out the article and put it in the book." She said smiling.

"What book?" Rick asked clearing off his toast.

"The book I got to put your press clippings in. It has the last article and now I'll put this one next to it. If yesterday was an induction of your new job as a fed then we're going to need a bigger book." She said.

"Right. Hopefully today will be a nice slow day. Then we have just Friday. Then the weekend will be here and we wont have to get up so early." Rick said looking at the clock. He drained the glass of green juice and chased it with half a glass of orange juice and walked into the bathroom.

"I don't know what he's excited about, he invited my Jr. agents here on Saturday to study." Jordan said draining her OJ. "Now if you will excuse me girls." She said getting up and handing her daughter the tray. "I'm going to see if I can get Rick to wash my back." She said winking at the two as she made her way into the bathroom.

The two girls fled the room for fear of hearing something they couldn't un-hear.

Forty-five minutes later they came downstairs dressed in light gray suits. "You know dressing alike is just going to give fuel to the fire of people making fun of you." Alexis said from the couch.

"I don't care anymore." Jordan said rolling her eyes.

"I never cared." Rick said shrugging as he filled two travel mugs with coffee.

"What are you two going to do today?" Jordan asked as she got her bag together.

"We thought we would head over to the spa for mud facials, then go window shopping, and have lunch someplace nice." Alexis said.

"Alexis is taking me to high tea." Kelly said excitedly.

"Well stick together and take care out there, it's a dangerous city." Jordan said hugging both girls. "We've got to go or we'll be late. See you two later." She said.

"Have a good day girls." Rick said waving as he walked out the door.

The trip to work was uneventful as was his early morning meeting with Ken. When he headed up to white collar things changed. The office was alive with activity. Last nights surveillance report showed Clark the Shark, a top level goon for Taz Abamoff, walking into Donovan's office and coming out ten minutes later with a shopping bag. As soon as organized crime got wind of this they wanted to take over the case. The two heads of the departments were fighting it out in Hugh's office and two divisions worth of agents were standing by to see who was going to continue the investigation. Rick got all this from Simmons, a Jr. agent from white collar. He walked over to were Neal, Diana, and Jones were standing. "Hey guys. Did I miss all the fun?" He asked.

"No you're just in time to see the verdict." Diana said.

Jones turned around and shook Rick's hand. "Clinton Jones. Good to be working with you, thanks for the ties." He said.

"You are most welcome. I'm kind of sorry Peter called you in now that OCD is taking over." Rick said.

"I wouldn't count Hughes out just yet." Diana said.

"Hey, Rick, if you have a chance latter, I'd like to talk to you." Neal said looking guilty.

"Is it urgent? Because you might have to wait a bit, I have lunch with my old cop buddies, and after that I'm taking my teammates gun shopping. After that I'm free." Rick said watching his body language.

"No, later will be fine." Neal said looking torn.

"We can talk in the car on the way to Donovan's office." Rick said patting him on the back.

"Thank you." Neal said.

Hughes stepped out of his office. "Caffrey, and Castle." He said pointing at the two before turning back to his office.

"I think he means us." Rick said smirking.

"I think so too." Neal said walking up to the office through the crowd.

"You called for us boss?" Rick asked stepping into the office with Neal.

"You know what's going on?" Hughes asked.

"I heard. Obviously Donovan owes Abamoff money, and he's using the shake downs to make the payoffs." Rick said.

"What makes you say that?" Vito Ranzolly, head of OCD, asked.

"We tracked two meetings with parents yesterday. In both meetings we saw the parents carrying money. And both sets of parents made large cash withdrawals. That evening, Clark the Shark comes by to collect. Either they're working together, which means Abamoff is trafficking kids, or Donovan owes money." Rick said.

"Abamoff would not traffic little kids." Neal said drawing everyone's attention. "It goes agents his business practices. Abamoff works high end gaming and loan sharking. He doesn't touch drugs or prostitution."

"What if he's branching out?" Ranzolly asked.

"Where did you guys track the Shark to?" Rick asked.

"The New York Room." Peter said. "Neal, do you think you can get in and find out if Donovan is a regular?"

"Not me, but, Nick Holden could. You want me to run it down boss?" Neal asked.

"I do." Peter said.

"I'd like to go with him. If he has a chance to sit at a table to bolster his credibility I can bank roll him." Rick said.

"You would bank roll Caffrey?" Hughes asked shocked.

"Sure why not? It's money people. I have a lot of it. Do you think I'm working here for the pay check?" Rick said. "I'll stop at the bank and pull a few hundred thousand out and store it in the safe in my trunk."

"If you're sure, go for it. Report back with what ever you find." Hughes said.

"Understood boss." Rick said walking out with Neal on his heels. He stopped by Diana and Jones. "We're running down Donovan's gambling debts. Good luck with the meeting if we don't get back before you guys go." Rick said.

"You too." Diana said.

"It was nice to meet you, welcome to the team." Jones said.

Rick and Neal rode the elevator down to his car and when they got going Rick turned to Neal. "What did you want to talk about?" Rick asked.

"How did you get in my head?" Neal asked.

"What?" Rick asked.

"You heard me. How did you get in my head? How did you know those things about me?" Neal asked.

"Are you easily offended?" Rick asked.

"Not really." Neal said.

"You're easy to read and predictable to a fault." Rick said.

"Ouch! I guess I am offended by that." Neal said

"I figure, say it fast and blunt, like pulling off a band aide. Peter spent three hours talking about the things you guys did together, he also talked about the things you did behind his back and the pattern is staggeringly ease to read. You have an agenda. A goal you want to accomplish. You hide it from Peter and do petty stupid things to accomplish that goal, then you get in trouble and Peter gets you out of it. After that you tell him what you're doing and together you work it out. Now if you would just stop acting like a con and start acting like an agent you could do so much more and you won't get Peter in trouble." Rick said calmly.

"I, honestly don't know what to say right now." Neal said looking very uncomfortable.

"I do. Come clean now and lets work together. Stop being stupid. You're too smart for that. For a con that knows so much you have zero communication skills when it comes to family and friends. So spill it. What did you do, and how can I help you?" Rick asked.

"I don't know. I don't know what I want anymore. The things you said yesterday have been marinating in my head all night. I want to know who killed Kate. I want to know who tried to kill me." Neal said.

"Okay, was that so hard to say? Now first thing we have to do is calm Sara down. Have you opened the package yet?" Rick asked.

"No." Neal said.

"Because you don't know if you can handle what's on the tape?" Rick asked.

"Yes."

"Okay. Is Sara the type of person to let a mystery just go?" Rick asked smirking.

"No. She's got a voracious hunger for figuring things out." Neal said with a sly smile.

"I bet she does, she looks like a real firecracker. I bet she dynamite in the sack." Rick said watching Neal think about it. "You want to know how you get her to stop looking for the package? Put it back." Rick said smiling.

"Put it back?" Neal asked like Rick was crazy.

"Put it back, and I bet she comes back to the office in a few days with the recording. She wont be able to let it drop." Rick said parking in front of the bank.

"That's it? Just leave it to chance?" Neal asked.

"It's not chance. Just like when you sit at a card table, there are odds of winning and losing. You play the odds. This time you're playing the odds that she can't sit on something like that. And for god's sake Neal stop acting like a petty criminal. Let try playing the part of a good guy for a while and see how that fits. You've been solving cases for a little over a year and a half. In that time you've done a lot of good. You can't sit there and tell me you don't like the feeling it gives you. Helping people, solving mystery, and out smarting criminals is addictive. It's how I went from being a writer to being a fed. Maybe it's how you go from a con to a Fed?" Rick said smiling.

"You're just full of wisdom today aren't you? Is that all?" Neal asked smiling.

"No, How much cash should I pull out?" Rick asked.

"Um, figure, Donovan is asking for a hundred thousand for every shake down so the game must be a hundred thousand for the buy in. Get 150,000 and I'll see if I can make your hundred back in a few hours playing the tables." Neal said.

"I better grab four just in case we have to pay Donovan off for the fake kid." Rick said before going into his trunk. He pulled a black metal briefcase out and walked into the big bank. Neal was just looking around the block when Rick came back out ten minutes later. He tossed the briefcase into the back seat.

"That was fast." Neal said looking at the case.

"I keep ten million in hundred dollar bills in a safe deposit box in the bank. It's why I was on the pop and drop list." Rick said pulling out into traffic. "Now where am I headed?" Rick asked.

Three hours later Rick was sitting out front of the New York Room playing Angry Birds on his phone when Neal walked out of the club with the black briefcase. Neal sat in the back seat. Rick pulled into traffic and drove a few blocks away before pulling over. "So how did we make out?" Rick asked.

"You sent me in with four hundred thousand and after paying the entry fee for the game on Saturday I walked out with a little over four hundred and fifty thousand and Abamoff's attention. He knew my alias and he was very interested in the case. I think I could sit in on every Saturday night game and make a million dollars. And you were right, Donovan is in the red two hundred thousand. If I take him on Saturday, he'll be down three hundred and desperate." Neal said.

"You just made a hundred and fifty thousand dollars?" Rick asked shocked.

"No, you made a that much." Neal said smirking.

"No I didn't. you did." Rick said.

"Rick I can't take you're money." Neal said.

"Take it. Think of it as a year and a half's worth of Jr. Agent paychecks. Use it as motivation to keep being a good guy. In fact lets drop it off at your house and get the package. We can pop it through Sara's mail slot and head off to lunch." Rick said.

"I thought you were having lunch with your cop friends?" Neal asked coming around to sit in the front seat.

"And you. You're a Fed right? Two cops and two Feds walk into a bar." Rick said driving towards Neal's house.

"I'm in. This sounds like it could be fun, but I can't take your money Rick." Neal said.

"You've earned it Neal. Use it to take Sara out on a date." Rick said smirking.

"A date?" Neal asked with fake confusion.

"You know, two people, a nice restaurant, awkward dinner conversation centered around trying to make yourself look good." Rick said.

"Is that how you pulled agent Shaw?" Neal asked smiling.

"In fact it is. She came over to my house with her daughter to talk about the prep school my daughter goes to. Good food and half a bottle of Black label later and she wanted me." Rick said with a cocky smile.

"Right, I'm sure her description of the night will be much more truthful." Neal said laughing.

"You calling me a liar?" Rick asked affronted.

"You're damn right I am." Neal said.

An hour later and Rick walked into the pub followed by Neal. He spotted Esposito and Ryan sitting at a bar table trying to balance a salt shaker on the head of a 9mm bullet "Really guys?" Rick asked walking up to the table. "I bring a federal friend to meet you two and you're playing a bar game with live ammo?" Rick said boxing the two in the back of the head. "Javier Esposito, and Kevin Ryan meet Neal Caffrey. Neal meet two of New York's dumbest." Rick said pulling up a fourth chair for Neal. "Did you two order yet or are you waiting for me?" Rick asked.

"We were waiting." Esposito said as the waitress came over with three beers and a basket of jalapeño poppers. "So we ordered apps?" He said trying not to laugh.

Neal was not holding it in. "Now that was funny." He said.

"Hey new guy, did you just laugh at me?" Esposito said faking a tough guy attitude.

"Maybe. You know the trick to that is finding the balancing point of the shaker, not the flat part of the bullet." Neal said taking the shaker and balancing on the bullet, for a few sounds before it feel over.

"Who is this guy Castle?" Ryan said handing a five dollar bill over to Esposito.

"Neal works for white collar division. We just came from an illegal underground casino. Neal just made a hundred and fifty thousand dollars and we came here to gorge our selves on Bacon and Beef. Excuse me Waitress. Bring us four of your best bacon cheese buggers and a glass of you best red wine for my friend here!" Rick said excitedly to the waitress who just rolled her eyes with a big smile at him.

"I see the wait staff knows you here." Neal said laughing.

"You kidding? Castle loves this place. We've come here three times a week for the last three years." Esposito said.

"SO, how's it going without me around boys? Is your mother still mad at me?" Rick asked smirking.

"So mad. She kicked over your chair yesterday when the captain told her about the lead you left for us." Esposito said.

"Yeah Castle, she's pissed off. I wouldn't come around the bull pen for a while." Ryan said.

"So inviting her to my Cops and Feds poker game is out of the question then?" Rick asked.

"When is this going down?" Esposito asked.

"I was thinking around seven-ish on Saturday, and don't worry guys Neal will be on an undercover op. that night so he wont take your money this week, I make no guaranties about next week." Rick said.

"Sounds good. I'll tell the captain." Ryan said.

The waitress came over with four plates with huge burgers and steak fries on the side. "Oh My God!" Neal said looking at the burger.

"You better take off your jacket. Getting the grease stains out of wool is a bitch." Rick said before turning to the waitress. "Hey Mia. Can you put twenty five of these burgers and fifteen fish and chips orders into a big box to go for me. I'm getting lunch for everyone at work." Rick said handing her a hundred dollar bill. "For yelling at you earlier." He said smiling.

"Thanks Castle. I haven't seen you around here in a few weeks, what happened?" She asked.

"I became a Fed." Rick said dropping his shield on the table. "I'm not at the twelfth any more, but I promise to come back for lunch as much as I can. My arteries were getting unclogged from not eating here all the time." He said laughing.

"Well as long as you try to come back as much as you can. You're the best tipper around." She said patting him on the cheek and walking away.

"I miss this place. I miss you guys. I miss it all." Rick said before taking a bite of his burger. "Oh god, the foods so good in this place." Rick said with a face full of grease and catsup.

"Man this burger is good." Neal said smiling.

After they eat and chatted Rick looked to Esposito. "So, now that we've got the fun part out of the way it's time for the bad news. Who was our Jane Doe?" Rick asked.

"Marry Rubiniwts, 17 years old. Illegal immigrant for Estonia. She was living in the hotel you said." Esposito said pulling a file out of his coat. "Fifteen shots to the chest and arms with a 9mm. The only lead we have is this junky hooker that says she saw her get into a big old brown car. Like a 70's Lincoln or Caddy. She's not sure. Then again she's so messed up she doesn't even know her own name." Esposito said.

"This is something I don't miss." Rick said looking at the crime scene photos.

"Tell me about it. The girl had no friends, no family, nothing. She was here one day and dead the next." Ryan said looking haunted.

"What are you guys talking about?" Neal asked looking over Rick's shoulder. "Oh God." He said looking away. "What the hell?" He asked looking green.

"17 year old girl found in a dumpster with 15 bullet holes in her." Rick said numbly.

"Why the hell would you be looking at that?" Neal asked.

"It's my old job. I used to help these guy find the people that would do something like this." Rick said.

"That's terrible." Neal said. "How many cases did you help with?" He asked.

"What would you say guys? Close to two hundred?" Rick asked.

"If you're counting bodies it's more then that." Esposito said.

"True." Rick said handing the file back to Esposito.

"No bro, that's your copy. Keep it. Try and find something else we missed." Esposito said.

"You guys gave up on it?" Rick asked.

"We got a double that looks pretty open and shut so we have to put this case into the cold box." Ryan said.

"I understand." Rick said reopening the file. "Have you guys looked for any more killings like this one? This seams like a very hateful act. And it's very clean. He's done it before." Rick said staring at the photos again.

"Keep at it. You know how much we hate putting a file in the cold case box." Esposito said.

"I will, but right now I have to get back to the office. I have a few things going on today and I have to get Neal back to white collar before he turns into a pumpkin." Rick said standing up. He pulled on his suit coat and hugged Ryan and Esposito. "Thanks for coming today. I've been missing you guys." He said smiling sadly.

"Us too. With you gone all the fun is gone too. I miss your crazy ideas." Esposito said.

"And your banter. The bullpen is too quite now." Ryan said.

"That's what the poker game is for. Bring any case files you guys are having issues with and the whole group will pick it apart. There will be a bunch of LEOs in the room. We're bound to find case breaks every week." Rick said walking up to the bar. "Hay Mia, are my burgers ready to go?" He asked.

"They are, we got two big boxes full." she said pointing to the two big greasy boxes on to the bar. "That will be $478.57" She said handing him the bill.

Rick peeled off six one hundred dollar bills and handed them to her. "Keep it. I'll be back net week sometime for the same thing most likely." He said grabbing one of the boxes. "Neal grab the other box. We have to get back." Rick said punching in the code on the glass touch pad under his license plate holder and putting his thumb on the scanner next to it. The trunk popped open and the large shocks helped him lift up the heavy lid. He set the box off to one side and took the one from Neal and put it next to the first one.

"Man that's some trunk. It's built like a vault." Neal said.

"It holds my back up gun, my vest, and my wind breaker. It's also going to house this black briefcase." He said pulling the black case off the back seat and tossing it in next to the food. "Now lets get moving." He said getting in.

Fifteen minutes later they got off the elevator on the tenth floor and were met by clapping as they brought the greasy boxes in to the office. "Come and get it people! I've got Bacon cheese burgers and fish and chips. Neal why don't you call Peter, Diana and Jones down here to have lunch. We can use the conference room here to talk about what happened." Rick said. Pulling a few burgers and fish dinners off to the side.

Jordan walked up and looked in the box. "Your making my agents fat Castle." She said grabbing a fish dinner.

"Sorry boss." He said. "Can I use the conference room for a lunch meeting with my friends from white collar?" He asked like a little kid.

"You can. As long as you guys keep it down." She said boxing him on the head as she walked away.

The white collar team stepped off the elevator and Rick greeted them. "Welcome to the tenth floor. I brought lunch. How did the meeting go?" Rick asked pointing to the food.

"Good. I think he bought us as a couple." Diana said grabbing fish and chips.

"Surprisingly I fit in with the upper crust crowd." Jones said grabbing a burger.

"I'm more interested in what happened to you two, you were gone all morning." Peter asked around his bite of greasy burger as they made their way into the conference room.

"Neal got into the New Your Room and spent three hours playing cards and making friends with Abamoff." Rick said.

"I bought in to the poker game this Saturday night. Donovan is playing in it and he's already down two hundred large to Abamoff. It's why he shaking parents down for so much. If I can take him down Saturday he'll be desperate for cash." Neal said confidently.

"Good to know. So the game is all set for Monday when they go back to Donovan. How much did you win?" Peter asked.

"One hundred and fifty thousand and change." Neal said.

"WHAT!" Peter asked almost choking on his burger.

"And Rick let me keep it." Neal said smiling.

"Why?" Peter asked.

"Because he risked his life going into that club and staying in there for three hours. It's not like this is going to happen every time but I think he earned it. Do you want a hundred and fifty thousand too. I have three hundred thousand more in my trunk." Rick asked smirking. "Besides, Neal doesn't pull down the same pay as you guys but he risks his life just like the rest of you. He's part of the team, so we should treat him like it. We had a nice long conversation today about being a good guy. I know what it's like to sit in a room full of cops and not carry a badge. It sucks. Because of that he's been acting like a criminal. Right Neal?" Rick asked smiling.

"It's true." Neal said feeling very awkward.

"Now he's a fully paid member of the team with the same rights as the rest of us, and because of that he's agreed to stop acting like a bad guy. As time goes on it will be easier for him, but right now it's going to be a struggle. So lets go easy on him." Rick said patting Neal on the back as he turned redder and redder.

"Is this true?" Peter asked looking shocked and proud at the same time.

"It's true. I've been a real jerk to you guys, especially you Peter. As of right now I'm going full legit." He said looking like he was going to lose his lunch or pass out. Maybe both.

"And as a full member of the team he wants to find the person that killed Kate and tried to kill him. We are expecting Sara Ellis to stop by sometime in the next few days with the voice recording from the plane. Once we get that we should start working on leads in our free time. I know you guys have been doing that on your own but if you work together then something might actually get done."

"How did Sara get voice recording back?" Peter asked smiling.

"It was placed through her mail slot about three hours ago. I mean, I guess it was. I'm not sure, it's not like I saw it being placed through the door of her apartment build." Rick said smirking.

"So new guy is like Caffrey lite?" Jones asked.

"Basically." Diana said nodding.

"Hey. I feel insulted. Why can't Neal be Rick heavily?" Rick asked setting everyone off.

"Hey, what's all this carrying on now?" Will asked from the doorway with a big smile.

"Hey Will you guys almost ready? I have my dealer coming here in a half hour with a big ass case full of guns." Rick said.

"I'll make sure the guys are ready." Will said eyeing up Diana.

"Eyes front solder." She barked smiling.

"Yes ma'am." He said leaving the room.

"What's this about a gun dealer?" Diana asked.

"Tired of your crappy Glock?" Rick asked.

"Crappy? The Glock is the best gun on the market." Diana said.

"Really? Have you ever seen my X-FIVE?" Rick asked pulling his gun and dropping the mag. He racked the slide and caught the bullet in mid air. He then slid her his gun across the table.

"What the hell is this thing?" She asked looking the gun over.

"Sig Sauer X-FIVE, the best gun in the world as far as I'm concerned." Rick said. "Do all of you guys carry Glocks?" He asked.

"I think we do." Peter said patting his Glock19.

"Jones, you were in the NAVY right?" Rick asked.

"Yes I was. Why?" He asked.

"They carry the Sig Sauer 226 right? Isn't that a better gun then the Glock?" He asked taking his gun back.

"It is, but the Glock is good too. A gun is a gun to me. As long as the bullets fly out I don't care what I carry." He said with an easy shrug.

"Use what you're comfortable with I guess, but feel free to come down and pick up a gun on me if you like." Rick said sitting back in his chair.

"You trying to buy our friendship Castle?" Diana asked with an easy smile.

"No, but if it's working then all the better." He said setting them off. His phone rang. "Hey John? You're here. Awesome, I'll come down to let you in." Rick said hanging up. "That was him. Apparently he's afraid to walking into the building wheeling a trunk full of guns. What a pansy." Rick said laughing as he walked out of the room "Hey guys, he's here. Lets go." He said leading his team to the elevator. Down in the lobby John was standing with his big rolling trunk as close to the door as possible. "Relax John. Come on in. the shooting range is in the basement. Guys meet John, John this is Will, Olivia and Dash. They're the ones I called you for." He said leading them to the elevators and beyond that, the shooting range. When they got to the range Victor Garza was using the last six of the twelve stalls for his class of six students. "Oops. Sorry agent Garza I didn't know you were teaching a class." Rick said.

"No, come in the range is still open, we're just using this side." He said walking over. "What's going on?" He asked.

"Oh, this is my friend, he's a gun dealer and I'm getting my team mates better guns to help them shoot better." Rick said motioning for then to set up in the first stall far away from the class.

"Good thinking. I assume you're talking about Moss and Abbydown?" He asked.

"I am, but Will's going to try some different guns out too. Is this your advanced weapons 2 class?" Rick asked.

"No these are the idiots from the Pool. They barely know which end the bullet comes out of. They have a little less then three months to get their shit together or they'll be dropped from the FBI all together. If they tighten up their shit they might be Jr. agents next year." He said shaking his head.

"They're that bad?" Rick asked.

"Come and watch. You'll be shocked they made it this far." Victor said.

"Hey guys pick what ever you want, it's on me. I'm going to go see this class." Rick said patting John on the back as he walked down range. As he passed each one he looked at how they were doing and it was shocking. These people were a danger to themselves and others. He wouldn't give them a sharp object let alone a gun. Rick walked back to the front of the line and stopped behind a short Hispanic female agent. "Excuse me?" He said tapping her on the shoulder. She stopped shooting and turned around with her finger still on the trigger and the gun facing him. Rick's hand shot out and grabbed the gun out of her hand "Jesus H Christ! Never do that again!" He said setting the gun on the shooting table in the range. "If you're not actively shooting then you never have your finger on the trigger, and you never. Ever. Point a gun at someone unless you're willing to shot them." Rick said feeling like a father to a small child again. "Now back to why I stopped you, you're holding the gun wrong in your hand. Your gripping it at the bottom of the handle, and not seating it in your hand firmly. Every time you shoot the gun bucks wildly and throws your shot all off. Instead, hold it like this." He said showing her how to hold her own gun. "You have small hands the slide is not going to hit you. I know that's what you think will happen but it wont. Look, my hand is three times bigger then yours and I can shot your gun without any problems." He shot three times down range. All of his shots hit close to the ten ring and they were group tightly together. "See no slide damage. Now you try. Don't fear your gun. If you do you'll never master this." He said handing her gun to her. She took it and held it like he showed her. "Good, now try letting off a few shots, don't worry about accuracy right now. Focus on holding it right." He said standing back. She shot once and when she saw nothing happened she shot four more times in quick secession until the gun was empty.

"Good job Santiago." Victor said calling the target back and showing her the four shots closer to the center but still well of the mark. "If you just work on accuracy now you'll pass out of the pool." Victor said pinning a new target up and sending it out to the red mark. "Keep up the good work." He said patting her on the shoulder. He grabbed Rick's arm and pulled him off to the side. "How the hell did you do that? Santiago was the worst of the group." Victor said looking confused.

"I just worked with her. Showed her what she was doing wrong and showed her how to do it right. You know? Like you do with your kids." Rick said.

"I have kids, that doesn't help me." Victor said.

"I'm going to go ahead and say your wife handled things like teaching your kids how to tie their shoes, and things like that?" Rick asked smiling.

"She did. I was more of a wait till your father gets home kind of dad." Victor said smiling.

"I see. Do you want me to try helping the rest of them?" Rick asked scratching his head.

"Sure, if you can do what you did with Santiago to the rest of the group I'll give you four extra credit points on your last test giving you a 100." Victor said.

"You have a deal." Rick said holding out his hand.

Victor shook it and walked away. Rick walked up to the next Pool agent. She was a tall curvy black girl with long straight hair pulled back into a bun. He could tell by the way she was dressed she was very girly. And by the way she was holding her gun he was sure it would come flying out of her hand. "Excuse me, Agent?" He asked.

She turned around and kept her gun down and away from him so that was a good start. "Yes?" She asked smiling at him with her light green eyes and deep red lips. He was defiantly going to introduce her to Will if the way he was looking at Diana was an induction of taste this girl was right up his alley.

"Hi, Agent Richard Castle." He said.

"Agent Melissa Hill." She said shaking his hand.

"Melissa, I noticed you hold your gun a little loosely. The looser you hold your gun the more it's going to move around in your hand when you shoot. Try this, hold your gun firmly like a wet bar of soap. Not so tight that it shoots out of your hand and not so lose that it slips through your fingers. You know what I'm saying?" He asked smiling.

"I think I understand." She said tightening her grip on her gun as she turned around. She fired off a few shots and her accuracy took a big jump.

"There you go. Now remember to look down your sights and keep your eyes open all the way through the shot. I find it's helpful to run a few magazines through your gun while concentrating on just the front sights. That way you get used to the flash of the gun and get used to reacquiring the front sight after each shot." He said patting her on the shoulder. "A few weeks of practice and you'll be taking the timed shooting test." He said making her giggle with excitement.

"Thank you so much." She said putting her gun down and hugging him.

"It was my pleasure. Agent Hill." Rick said shaking her hand and moving on to the next agent. This one was a chubby white kid with glasses as thick as coke bottles. Rick tapped him on the shoulder and the kid jumped and almost dropped his gun. "Hi my name is Agent Richard Castle." He said holding out his hand.

"Michael Forester Sir." He said shaking Rick's hand.

"Are you nervous Mike?" Rick asked.

"Nervous Sir?" Mike asked looking jumpy.

"Relax Mike. I'm not going to bite you and neither is your gun. Your gun is an extension of your arm. It's a tool, like a computer mouse. It even have a point and click function." Rick said making Mike laugh. "There you go. Lighten up Mike. Put your gun on the table and get loose. Shake out your arms and body. There you go. Now pick up you gun and hold it with one hand. There you go. See how nice and lose you're gripping it? That's the way you're supposed to grip your gun. You're not trying to strangle it. Now aim it at the target and just add your left hand to support you right. There you go. Now take a deep breath, hold it in and start shooting. Just let it rip and empty the mag. Go for it!" Rick said.

Mike took a deep breath and pulled the trigger until the slide locked back. "Wow." Mike said feeling excited.

"Right? That was fun. Put in a fresh mag. Alright. Now I want you to say a action move hero tag line and let off a few shots. Go ahead. No one is going to hear you. They're all busy trying to hit the target." Rick said holding his shoulder and pep talking him up like a the old guy in the Rocky movies.

"Okay." Mike said feeling unsure. "Play time's over!" Mike said letting off three shots. All of them hit close to the center and Mike had a huge smile on his face.

"Was that from Hot Fuzz?" Rick asked.

"Yeah. I love that movie." Mike said.

"You remind me of Danny. You know what Danny wanted to do more then anything?" Rick asked.

"Jump through the air while shooting two guns." Mike said laughing.

"Deep down, everyone that puts on a badge has the same thought. One day I want to jump through the air shooting two guns. We just don't say it enough. But you know what? We all have that dream. Until the day you get to live out the ultimate dream, try to have some fun with this. Because until you get your shot this is as close as you get, and let me tell you it's a lot closer then most people get. So be the biggest bad ass you can be." Rick said patting him on the back. "Right Danny?" He said walking away. As he turned to the next agent he heard.

"Bad Boys For Life!" before Mike blasted through the rest of his mag. Rick had the biggest smile on his face.

The next guy looked young. Like too young to even shave. Rick tapped him on the shoulder and the kid holstered his gun and turned around. He was short, maybe 5'4" at the most and his shaggy light brown hair remind him of the poster of a boy band on Alexis wall a few years ago. "Hi, I'm Richard Castle." He said holding out his hand.

The kid grabbed his hand sideways and shook it once before coming back in for a fist bump. "Hey dude. I'm Justin." The kid said and Rick now understood why he was in the pool. He was annoyingly young.

"I noticed your having trouble keeping your shots on target. I think it has a lot to do with the way you're standing. You're bending your knees an bit and dropping your right shoulder after each shot. Try standing up straight, and making a triangle with your two arms and your chest. This will give you a stable platform to work with. Aside for that I noticed you're not looking at your target dead on. Your tipping your head to the right just a bit." Rick said.

"Wow, I didn't even notice any of that." Justin said standing up taller.

"There you go. Do you play Call of Duty Modern Warfare?" Rick asked.

"Is that an age joke?" Justin asked looking angry.

"No! not at all. I was going to use an analogy using the game. And hey I'm close to forty and I play Modern warfare!" Rick said. "Age has nothing to do with taste trust me." Rick said patting Justin on the shoulder. "What I was going to say is, you know how in Modern warfare you can no scope people by putting a dot in the middle of your screen? Well this is a lot like that. If you use the stance I showed you, you can basically No scope the target down range. All you have to do is find the body position relative to your target and you'll get close to the center every time, watch this." Rick said standing in the lane. He straitened out his body so he was facing the target dead on and raised his left hand and pointed at the target. Then he closed his eyes, brought his gun up with his right hand, and using his left hand as a guide as to where to hold his gun he shot three times and hit dead center.

"What kind of JedI shit was that." Justin asked looking shocked.

"That was exactly what I was telling you. Find the bulls eye with your body and the gun will follow you. Try it. Stand nice and straight. Square up your body, and use your left arm to fid the target. Now bring your gun up with your right hand. And shot." Rick said.

Justin shot once and looked shocked. He close to the center, just a little low. "Practice that shit for a while and you'll no scope the target every time. You'll also impress the hell out of the ladies." Rick said smirking.

"Thanks dude." Justin said holding out his hand for a fist bump.

"Good to meet you." He said bumping his fist and walking to the next stall. By this point the was running out of analogies and starting to realize why he didn't like teaching back when he tried to make a living out of it. The second to last stall was populated by a small Asian girl. She wasn't short, but she was tiny. Skinny didn't really cut it, this girl was boney. Her problem was very easy to see, she couldn't keep the gun level through the shot. It bucked in her small hand and she was holding it tight. He tapped her and she looked back at him. "I'm weak, I know. Now go bother someone else." She said before turning back to the target.

"Actually I was going to suggest and different gun. Something with a lighter slide maybe or something. I don't think that Sig 229 agrees with you at all." Rick said.

"This is new, usually I get, try eating a sandwich, or an oriental joke. Okay Mr. teacher. What will a different gun do?" She asked.

"Well a gun with a short slide or a compensator will stop your hand from flying up with every shot, or if you just went with a compact 9mm there would be less slide weight being thrown around. Hold on a second." Rick said jogging back to John. "Hey buddy. How's it going down here?" He asked.

"Good, Olivia thinks she might be suited to the PX4. And Dash is trying to narrow it down between a UCP Compact and a Sig 226." John said.

"Awesome. Do you have anything in the sub compact range?" Rick asked.

"I have a PX4 in sub compact and I have a Berretta 84." John said pulling two guns out of his crate.

"Are they loaded?" Rick asked.

"No, here's a box of 9mm." John said.

"Thanks John, I might be taking one of these." He said before walking back.

"Here, take one of these and load it." Rick said handing her the 84.

"Were did you get these?" She asked.

"My friend is a gun dealer. By the way I'm Richard Castle.

"Fay Li. Nice to meet you. Do you really think this will work?" She asked trying to load her gun as fast as he was.

"Lets see." He said handing her the PX4 and taking the magazine out of her hand. "Try putting some rounds down range." He said loading the other magazine.

Fay squared up to the target and took a deep breath. She squeezed the trigger and bingo, she hit the center of the target. "My God!" She said with a big smile on her face.

"Keep going! Try to get five shots off quick and see of your accuracy falls." He said.

"Okay." She said turning back to the target. Five shots later and she was grouping nicely.

"Okay, try this one." He said handing her the 84. Ten shots later and she was back to being all over the place. "Right, the PX4 it is." He said switching guns again.

"I like this one better." She said going back to hitting the center of the target. "how much is it?" She asked looking at it.

"Don't worry. It's on the house. You can repay me by making it out of the pool." Rick said shrugging. "Take these two guns back over to John, and tell him your taking the PX4. He'll have you sign a form and he'll give you a holster that fits it." Rick said. Before moving on to the last guy and saw it was the guy that pushed past him yesterday. "Why are you down here with the Pool agents?" He asked.

"I failed my test yesterday." He said looking like he wanted to shoot Rick in the face.

"Well, Will said you were friends with Dickey so at lest you two have each other." Rick said trying to calm the situation.

"They let him go because he didn't make the grades to stay in the pool. It mist be nice to have the inside track and bang your way into the top spot." He said coldly.

"You know, I'd argue with you but right now you're holding a gun, so I'm just going to call this a win and walk away." Rick said backing up. Victor walked over to him. "Agent Garza I helped five of the six agents. The sixth one looks like he might start shooting at me so I backed off." Rick said.

"Good call. I hate the Harvard kids, they think they're owed a spot as a special agent just because they over paid for school." Victor said laughing. "But I must say you did wonders with the rest of them. They seam like a good bunch of kids, but some of them really need work. The chubby kid with the glasses, and the skinny Asian girl are headed for the scrap heap if they can't get their shit together in here and out on the course. The girly girl Hill and Porter, the little kid are okay for now but they need a lot of help reading a crime scene. But My God Santiago is a fucking train wreck. She going to kill Tom in the car one day, and that if she doesn't shot herself by accident first. A black cat walked under a ladder in front of her mother as she broke a mirror the day she was born." Victor said.

"I can't believe the FBI just tosses these guys out like yesterdays trash if they can't get it together. It seams like a waste." Rick said looking at them. He felt sorry for them in a kind of bad news bears kind of way.

"Oh you feel sorry for them don't you?" Victor asked laughing.

"It's my thing Victor, I hate to see the little guy struggle." Rick said.

"So quit your nice safe job and jump into the pool." Victor said.

"Or I can bring the pool up to my level." Rick said walking away. "Hey guys. Did you know they toss the Pool agents out if they can't get better test scores in a certain amount of time?" Rick said walking up to his team.

"Yeah, everyone knows that. It's why the pool is so small. They trim the fat quick around here." Will said shooting a Inox.

"Well then I know how we can get good enough to pass out of Jr. agent status." Rick said smiling.

"No." Olivia said. "I'm not dealing with the Pool agents, and you can't make me." She said crossing her arm.

"Olivia. Look at them, they're like a bad 80's movie about a rag tag team of misfits. Will, look over there, third stall from you. She's a Pool agent." Rick said smiling.

"Damn, I didn't know they made Pool agents like that." Will said.

"Now wouldn't you like to get to know her? Find out why she's in the Pool?" Rick said smiling.

"I really would." Will said fixing his tie.

"And Dash, you were worried you were going to be the worst one in this group. What if we fixed the curve and added five people that are way below you. Wouldn't that boost your confidence?" He asked putting his arm around Dash.

"Damn you Rick, you're too persuasive. I'm in, they do look like sorry buggers." He said.

"Come on Olivia, all you do is read all day, teach, you know that teaching a subject makes you know it better. Plus, helping these guys out will probably piss off your mother." He said.

"Shit, fine. I'll do it but if this brings my test scores down even a little bit I'll kill you." She said. "And I want two guns." She said holding up a PX4 and a PX4 compact. "For date night." She said when he raised an eyebrow.

"Guys, you are not going to regret this. If you do you can blame me for it and I'll go down into the Pool with them." Rick said before going back over to the other side of the range. "Hey guys?" He said getting their attention. "Thank you, helping you guys today was fun and I hope you guys took something from it." He said getting smiles and nods from the group. "Helping you was so much fun I talked my friends in to helping you all pass out of the Pool. I'm not saying we're better then you so we're helping you out. I'm say helping you guys might give us the motivation to pass out of Jr. agent status. So what do you say guys, would you like our help?" Rick asked.

Melissa hill looked around the group and got nods from everyone. "I think we're in." She said smiling.

"Okay. I guess I'll do the meet and greets. Pool agents these are Jordan Shaw's Jr. squad. Will Warner, Olivia Moss, and Dash. "Guys this is. Melissa Hill, Mike Forester, Justin Porter, Fey Li, and Santiago, I'm sorry I didn't get your first name." Rick said.

"Carmen." She said smiling at the group.

"First things first. Victor gave me some areas you guy need the most help in so Will my big friend, Fay and Mike need help passing the fitness portion. Justin and Melissa are good with piratical for now but they could use some help with reading a crime scene so I figured I'll just teach a master class for that and they can work with you on some theory Olivia. Carmen, Victor said you needed some help in almost everything. I know that sounds bad but it means you can make the biggest leap. That looks good on test scores. Plus your going to be working with me the most. You're going to be my shadow." He said smiling. "Now first things first. You can't get better range score of you're using a gun that doesn't fit you. This is John. John will help you find a gun that fits you. This one's on the house but the next one you buy." Rick said.

An hour later everyone had a new gun, including Rick who picked up a Berretta 84, as a back up gun. Having seen how many times Kate needed hers he knew he would need to carry one. "Now remember, you are all coming over to my house on Saturday to do a big study session. We have a theory test next Wednesday. Tomorrow we are going to look at mock crime scenes, and if you're good I'll see if I can get us on to a real crime scene." Rick said before pulling a big stack of hundred dollar bills out and paying John.

"Thanks' Rick, these last few days have been my most profitable. I have everyone's paper work., I'll put together care packages of you all and bring them by tomorrow. I'll also throw in an extra mag. For every gun, on the house. If any of you need anything else, don't haste to call. If I have it in stock you can have it that day, if I don't have it I can get it for you." John said handing out his card.

"Thank you John." Rick said shaking his hand. When he looked down at his watch he saw it was already half past four. "Okay guys it's close to quitting time. Lets head back to the office. See you all tomorrow on the fifth floor. I understand that's where the mock crime scenes are. We'll start nice and early." Rick said shaking hands and patting backs.


	8. Chapter 8

Rick went up to the tenth floor and took a seat in front of Jordan's desk. "Is it time to go home yet?" He asked with a smile.

"No, we have at least a half hour. Your lucky we didn't catch a case. I've slept at this desk before." She said.

"I know, I'm used to that kind of stuff. This day to day stuff is boring. I'm used to working a fresh case every four days. A murder case at that. One with real clues, and real evidence." Rick said.

"So go work cold cases with Ken." She said laughing at him. Most Jr. agents were trying to avoid work.

"Cold cases, why dose that… Oh, you have access to all of the murders in the country right?" Rick asked.

"I do. As head profiler I have review power over them all. Why." She asked.

"That case I gave Espo, and Ryan a lead on came back a dead end. The girl was a illegal immigrant, and no one saw her get killed. I had a theory that this might not have been his first kill. I wanted you to look up other murdered hookers with multiple 9mm GSWs." Rick said.

"I can try but the system doesn't really work that way. I can give you multiple 9mm GSW victims, but you're going to have to sort through them." She said. Typing on her keyboard. "You have to remember that cops are writing these up. They don't always care if they get all of the facts right," She said. "Al right, for the last five years we are looking at 954 unsolved murders with multiple 9mm GSWs. If we only look at females that number is… 658. Is there anything you can use to narrow it down more?" She asked.

"Can we take only the murders that happened in the tri state area?" He asked.

"Lets see. We are looking at 198 in the northeast." She said.

"Okay how does this work?" Rick asked coming around the desk to look over her shoulder.

"The cases are shown in a list. This is the case number, and next to it is the location and date. The last thing you see is the description of the murder in a few sentences." She said pointing out the lines.

"Can you print that out for me?" He asked.

"Sure. The printer is out in the main office. It's going to be about 25 pages." She said.

"Right. I'll be right back." He said running out to the printer. He came back ten minutes later reading the top page.

"You think you're really on to something or do you just want to look?" She asked.

"It might be something, it might not, but if it is and we didn't catch it?" Rick said looking up form the page he was looking at.

"Good point. Tell me if you find anything." She said picking up a file on her desk and tossing it into her bag. "But it's closing time now." She said. She looked up and saw he was reading and not paying attention to her. She smiled. "Rick." She said getting his attention. "It's closing time. Put that in you bag, and lets go." She said.

"Okay." Rick said walking out to his desk and grabbing his bag. He pulled a pen out of his bag and underlined a case number. He stuck the pen behind his ear and walked to the elevator where Jordan was waiting for him.

"You're like a dog with a bone. I like it. But let it rest for a few minutes or you're going to trip over your own feet." She said pushing him into the elevator.

"Sorry, but this is the first thing that really hooked me in three weeks." He said shrugging.

"I get it. I can drive if you want to keep reading." She said holding out her hand for his keys.

"Sure." He said handing the black key fob over as he walked to his car.

"Alright, lets call the girls and see where they are." She said pulling out her phone as she got comfortable behind the wheel of Rick's car. She called her daughter. "Hey Kelly, what are you two doing?" She asked.

"Nothing, were headed home. Tell Rick his mother wants to conference call with you and him." She said.

"I wonder why." Jordan said.

"I don't know, she said it was good news and she wanted to talk to you both." Kelly said.

"Well we're on our way back now. We'll meet you girls at the apartment and call her together. I was calling to see what you two wanted to do for dinner." Jordan said.

"Well were are kind of shopped out and tired so maybe we can just stay in and rent a movie or something." Kelly said.

"Sounds good to me. Maybe we'll order some pizza for dinner. She said starting the car.

"That's good for us, we'll see you in a little bit." Kelly said hanging up.

"Did you get all that?" Jordan asked pulling out of the garage. She looked over and saw Rick underlining case files. "Never mind." She said laughing.

"I know you're making fun of me, but I don't care, I think I'm on to something." He said looking up form his stack of papers.

"Really? What do you have?" She asked.

"I have about ten cases so far that could match our dead girl. I don't know, I have to see the whole file to know for sure. How do I get the files?" Rick asked.

"You have to put in a request for the file from the case officer. They usually send the file over within a few days, or if it's close we usually send a Jr. agent to go pick them up. So when you have your list if files I can punch them into the system and it will email the detective of the request. If the file is close I'll add a pick up notice to the message. As soon as they reply you can go pick up the files." She said.

"Good to know." He said going back to the list. When they got to the apartment. Rick handed her the keys and walked in after her without looking up.

"What's up with him?" Alexis asked watching as Rick walked into his office and sat behind his desk without looking up.

"Don't mind him, he's on the hunt for a serial killer." She said rolling her eyes.

"You don't think there's a killer?" Alexis asked as Kelly came down the stairs and hugged her mother.

"I don't know but I doubt it. This happens to all good agents a few times. They find a cold case and they get a hunch. They run it down and usually find nothing, but every once in a big while they hit pay dirt. He's two thirds of the way through the stack. He should be done in a few minutes." Jordan said setting her bag and her gun on the counter in the kitchen. "So what do you think Martha wants to talk about?" Jordan asked.

"I don't know, but knowing Gram it could be anything from her finding a house in Chicago and moving out, or she got fired from the set of the movie she's shooting and they ran her out of town. You never know with Gram." Alexis said.

"That must be really fun and very bothersome to live with." Jordan said smiling.

"You have know idea. When she gets back you can experience the full force of Martha Rodgers." Alexis said.

Rick walked over holding his list. "I've narrowed the list down to 23 cases. I doubt they're all the same guy, but I bet a few of them are. I need the files to be sure. The good news is they're all close by so I can go around tomorrow afternoon and pick them up." Rick said dropping the stack of paper on the counter. "Now what did you want to talk to me about?" He asked looking puzzled.

"I didn't want to do anything your, mother wants us to call her when we're al together." Jordan said.

"Oh, knowing mother she got fired and is being run out of Chicago." Rick said pulling his tie off.

"Alexis said the same thing." Kelly said laughing.

"You don't know Mother." Rick said pulling out his phone. Her found her name and called her. "Hello Mother…yes we are all here. Let me put you on speaker." Rick said hitting the button and setting his phone on the counter. "You're on with all of us now Mother." Rick said.

"Hello darlings. I'm calling to tell you the movie shoot is winding down. We wrap in two weeks and for the rest of the shoot I have short days. Sooooo, I was thinking that maybe the girls could come out to Chicago for that time and stay with me. They can sleep in while I'm on set and afterwards we can go out and do stuff, there is so much to do and see in this city and I've been saving up all my sight seeing until now." Martha said.

"I don't know Martha. I've never let Kelly go anywhere by herself. Let alone on a plan to a different city." Jordan said looking worried.

"There's nothing to fear Jordan. Rick is sending out his jet to pick me up in two weeks he can send it earlier with the girls. And this city is a lot more safe then New York. I have a big suite at the Four Seasons and a personal car. There's nothing to worry about. It's good for the girls to get out of the house a bit, have an adventure. Even if it's just going to another city to stay with their grandmother." Martha said.

"I see." Jordan said looking at her daughter and Alexis who both looked like they were going to start hopping up and down with excitement. "Rick what do you think?" She asked looking to him for guidance.

"If we say yes to this you will watch out for them and not leave them to fend for themselves while you go off and do your own thing right?" Rick asked.

"Of course I'll keep an eye on them Richard, what kind of a Grandmother do you think I am?" Martha said in a huff.

"That same mother that left me back stage at a theater in Rome to go hook up with am Italian actor." Rick said shaking his head.

"That was ages ago Richard. Get over it. Now send the girls either tomorrow or the next day so they can catch the end of a run of Don Giovanni at the Lyric Opera house with me this Sunday night I have box seats and we can go gown shopping for the big event." Martha said.

Jordan looked torn and Rick wanted to talk it out with the girls. "Mother, we're going to talk it over on our end and call you back." Rick said.

"Fine, I hope to see you girls soon." She said before hanging up.

"Okay. Lets talk this out." Jordan said looking between the two hopeful girls and Rick who looked oddly calm. "Rick what do you think?"

Rick looked at Alexis. "If you go, you stay with your grandmother every minute of the day that you can, and when you're not with her you stay in the hotel. You have a car service pick you up and take you everywhere, and you always have money and your credit cards on you at all times. And you wear your tracking bracelet always." Rick said.

Jordan looked at Kelly and saw hope in her green eyes and she knew she was letting her little girl go. "You stay five feet from Alexis at all times and you follow her lead. Also don't be a brat for Martha." Jordan said.

"We promise to be good, and I'll look out for Kelly." Alexis said pulling Kelly to her side.

"Me too. For all of it." Kelly said with a big smile.

"One last thing, you call every night, no matter how late Mother keeps you out. You call when you get back to the Hotel." Jordan said pulling the two girls into a group hug.

Rick redialed his mother. " So what time are the girls getting here so I can go pick them up?" Martha asked.

Rick laughed. "I'm not sure just yet, I have to call the airstrip and have them gas up the jet and the girls have to pack and get ready. Probably some time tomorrow. We'll call you later to give you the details." Rick said.

"Good. We are going to have soo much fun." Martha said excitedly.

"We'll call later, good buy Mother." Rick said hanging up the phone. "When are we doing this so I can have Phil get the plan ready?" Rick asked.

"I guess if we pack now we can be ready to go by morning. We might have to make a run to the store to get odds and ends but I think we can be dropped off at the Jet tomorrow morning before you guys have to go to work." Alexis said thinking about what she was packing.

"Well lets start packing now and if you guys are not ready to go in a the next few hours then we'll shoot for Saturday morning. Phil said I only have to give him an Hour to file flight plans and get the jet ready." Rick said.

"Come on Kelly, lest get packing." Alexis said grabbing the younger girl's hand and running up the stairs. "We can get my bags ready and head over to your house to pack your things." She said as they vanished into the upstairs bedrooms.

"You have a private jet?" Jordan asked.

"I do, it's more cost effective to own your own plane then it is to keep flying first class. You have to remember I would go on book tours all the time. So after the first few tours I took the money the publishers gave me to buy airline tickets and bought a nice little goulfstream from a DEA auction. I had it for ten year until it got too old and expensive to keep in the air. So I sold it, and bought a nice Bombardier challenger 850 from Richard Branson. He had it built for short trips to his island and by the time they delivered it to him he made an air rout to the island so flights were headed out that way all the time. No need for a jet. He sold it to me for pennies on the dollar." Rick said.

"That's a big ass plane Rick. I mean I have access to the Bureau's G3 but the 850 is three times the size." She said shaking her head.

"I told you I was loaded." Rick said smirking.

Alexis called form the top of the stairs. "Kelly has to go back to her house for some stuff. I'm almost ready to go. I just need to get more tooth paste and conditioner." She said.

"You know you can get that stuff in Chicago." Rick said smiling.

"You said we shouldn't go out unless we had to. A drugstore run is not have too kind of stuff." She said.

"Right. I'll take you girls. Kelly is going to need stuff like that too." Jordan said picking up her bag, and gun.

"And while you guys are doing that I'll get a couple of pizzas and a movie." Rick said grabbing his key fob.

"Alright. Lets get this show on the road." Jordan said walking the girls out of the house with Rick right behind her.

An hour later when they got back Rick was still out. "I wonder what is taking him so long to get a pizza?" Jordan asked helping the girls check their bag to make sure they had everything.

"He probably remembered to get something." Alexis said pulling a silver charm bracelet out of a box. She pulled her lap top out and pulled up a web site. "Kelly can you take this bracelet to my dads office for a minute and come back I want to make sure its working." She said handing the bracelet to the younger girl.

"Okay." Kelly said looking confused but following orders.

"See what's working?" Jordan asked looking at the screen she saw a map of New York and a red dot. The map zoomed in until she saw an over head view of the building and a blinking red dot in the corner.

"It a GPS tracking beacon. Dad got it for me a few years ago when I took a class trip to Boston." Alexis said as the dot moved back to the other corner of the building and Kelly walked into the room. "The tracker works good. I'll be wearing it the whole time we're there. You have nothing to worry about." Alexis said slipping the bracelet on and putting the black box in her red bag.

They heard the door open. "Hey guys I'm home!" Rick called out. They came down and saw him carrying two pizza boxes, a few bags and a small shopping bag. "I got a large pepperoni and a large veggy. I also got a few Pixar movies." He said setting the bags on the counter. "Kelly, I don't know if Alexis showed you her tracking bracelet, But I got you one too." He said handing her the small bag. "Alexis, I pulled some cash out of the bank today for a case and I brought some up for pocket money." Rick said handing her four bundles.

"You call forty thousand pocket money?" Jordan asked.

"I do when my mother is concerned. I also upped your card limit to a half a million in case you need it." Rick said opening the pizza box and grabbing a big slice of Pepperoni. "And remember, no matter how old you two are, you're more mature and responsible then her." Rick said.

"I know dad, I'm the most mature person in our family." Alexis said rolling her eyes.

"Hey! You can't call me immature any more. I have a real job now. Remember?" He said holing up his shield.

"And you have pizza sauce running down your chin grown up." She said handing him a napkin. That set them all off and they spent the rest of the night sitting together and watching movies.

Rick looked around and saw he was the last one up. He looked down at his watch and saw it was just past midnight. He looked at the girls sitting on each side of Jordan with there heads on her shoulder, and her arms around them. He took the throw off the back of the couch and laid it over them. When he did Jordan looked up at him.

"I didn't want to cut your cuddling short." He said smiling.

"No, I think we'll stay out here." She said holding the two girls tighter.

"I'll be over here on the lounge. I'll set my phone for six." He said

"Good." She said. Laying her head back on the couch.

He took the throw off the chase lounge and laid out on the lounge. He fell asleep looking at the three of them. The next thing he knew it was bright in the room and his phone was beeping. He jumped up to shut it off and Jordan's head lifted and looked at him. "It six." Rick said.

"Girls, it's time to get up." She said gently rubbing their backs.

"I know but I don't want to get up. It's nice." Alexis said smiling.

"Tell me about it, can't we stay like this all day." Kelly said.

"Go, ahead guys, stay like that for as long as you want." Rick said. "The plane leaves when you want it to, and Jordan can come in for a half day. I, on the other hand have three Jr. Agents, and five Pool agents expecting me to come in at nine." Rick said standing up and stretching. "So I'll go in and you guys call for a car to take you to the airstrip. Alexis, you know where the plane is and how to set up a flight, so call it in before you guys leave and the plane should be ready to go by the time you get there. Then just have the car drop you off at the Office." Rick said as he folded the throw.

"I think we might just do that. I'm not going to see my girls for two weeks and I want to spend as much time as I can with them." Jordan said.

"Why don't you pack a bag and spend the weekend with them. You can fly out with them today and come back Monday morning. You can be back at the office by noon on Monday. Technically you did take this week off. You only came to work to make sure I fit in with the group. I'm fitting in better then anyone expected so finish off your vacation days." Rick said.

"I can't, we have dinner at Sam and Betty's house on Sunday." Jordan said.

"I'll go. They want to interrogate me anyways so I'll let them. After I hand out gifts they'll be eating out of the palm of my hand. I'm charming, it's what I do." He said smiling.

"Okay, but I was supposed to put in a request for the case files for you." She said trying to think of everything.

"Avery can do it. If he can't then Ken, or Peter can. Stop worrying about everything and go have fun. I'll hold down the fort." Rick said walking up the stairs to the bedrooms.

"He's right you know. You should come. It will give you a chance to hang out with Gram." Alexis said stretching.

"Yeah mom it will be so much fun." Kelly said.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this but, I'm headed to Chicago with you girls." She said shaking her head.

The girls cheered. "We are going to have so much fun." Alexis said grabbing her phone off the table. "I'm going to call Gram and tell her the good news. You should go pack a bag." She said to Jordan as she stood up.

"No need. I brought some comfortable clothes in that black bag I had last night." Jordan said. "If we're all going then we can leave now. We just have to shower and change." She said standing up and stretching.

"I got the shower first!" Kelly said.

"Relax, there are four showers in this house, we can all get one." Alexis said looking up from her phone. "I'll also call Tony to come pick us up."

Jordan walked into the bedroom and saw Rick coming out of the bathroom. "Hey handsome, you want to fool around a little before we leave?" She asked walking up to him with a smile.

"Don't mind if I do." Rick said kissing here, and pulling here into the bathroom. Twenty minutes later Rick walked out of the bathroom in a robe smiling a goofy smile. He walked down stairs and called Phil to get the plane ready and he also had them send over a flight attendant with breakfast for three. When Alexis and Kelly came down they were all ready to go. "Hey you two, do you have everything? Bracelets?" He asked and they held out their right arms. "Good, you have money and credit cards and everything else?" He asked.

"We have everything, and Tony called, he's around the corner. Where's Jordan?" Alexis asked.

"She's getting dressed. She should be down in a few minutes." Rick said coming around the counter to hug the two. "I'm going to miss you two. Stay together and enjoy your time together. I know my mother will have a ton of stuff for you guys to do." He said.

"Don't worry dad. We'll be fine." Alexis said.

"And I'm going to stick to my sister." Kelly said.

"Good. When you guys get back you'll only have a few weeks off and then it will be time to go back to school. We should do something maybe go…" He trailed off looking at the stairs.

The girls turned around and saw Jordan coming down the stairs in her black underwear with her long wet red hair in a towel. "Sorry, I forgot my bag down here." She said pulling out a pair of Jeans and a t-shirt. "Are you two ready to go?" She asked as she pulled her jeans on one leg at a time making sure Rick was looking at her legs.

Alexis looked at her dad and looked back at Jordan. "Yes and the car is here." She said smirking.

"I'm almost ready. I just have to throw some things in my bag and we can go." She said pulling on her shirt. She shook out her hair and ran back up the stairs.

Rick followed her up and pined her to the door of the bedroom. "I'm going to miss you." He said kissing her neck.

"Just think, when I get back we're going to have the house to ourselves." She whispered as she ran her hand down his chest and inside his robe. "Then you can have me in every room of the house." She said biting her lip.

"God woman you have no idea what you're doing to me." He said.

"Oh, I know what I'm doing. I'm making sure you're thinking of me this weekend." She said biting his ear lobe and pushing him off her. "Now I have to go. The girls are witing." She said grabbing a bag off the sink in the bathroom. "See you in a few days Rick." She said taking his hand and placing it on her ass. She kissed him hard and pulled away smiling. "Don't be late for work." She said laughing as she walked away. She came down and grabbed her over night bag and her purse. "Come on girls. Lets go." She said walking to the door. Rick came down to hug them and send them on their way. They came down and Tony was waiting on them.

"Hey Lexi, who's the fox?" He asked taking their bags.

"The Fox is Jordan Shaw and she does not like to be called fox." Jordan said smirking.

"Understood Mrs. Shaw." Tony said letting it roll of his back as he opened the door for them. They all got in the back with Kelly in the middle and Tony started driving. "So we're headed to Teterboro airport, where you Ladies headed?" He asked.

"We're going to see Gram in Chicago." Alexis said.

"Good, Tell Mr. R I miss her, and tell her I can't wait till she gets back. Then I can be her full time driver and I won't have to deal with the stuck up jerks that I've been dealing with since she's been gone." Tony said.

"I'll be sure to tell her. I'm sure she's thinking about you in Chicago. You know other driver don't treat us like family. I'm surprised you didn't go with her when she left." Alexis said.

"I wanted to but the Misses couldn't get that much time off." Tony said.

"Running your own day care center is hard work. I'm surprised she even tried to get away at all." She said.

"Maggie loves her daycare center, and she loves the little rugrats, but sometimes seeing all the little kids every day gets to her." He said sadly.

"I can see how it might make her sad. Have you guys thought about adoptions? I know my dad can help you guys with the process. He knows Lawyers, and judges. I'm sure he knows a few people." She said patting him on the shoulder.

"I tried to talk to her, but she still wants to try to have one." Tony said shaking his head. "But it's too early to be talking about depressing things. Let talk about things to see in the Windy City. Have you ever been?" He asked.

"I went once with my mother. She took me out of school once to fly me to Chicago to go shopping. You know what my mother is like." Alexis said rolling her eyes.

"I've never been but I know my mom has." Kelly said.

"What did you do when you were there. Did you get to go to the great museums?" Tony asked.

"Kind of, I chased a killer on the streets in front of the Art museum. I shot out his back tire and he crashed right down the street from it." She said shaking her head.

"What did you say you did?" Tony asked looking shocked.

"Special agent, FBI, Profiling division." She said flashing her badge.

"That's awesome." Tony said. Turning off the highway. "We're coming up to the airport. If you look out your left side window you'll probably See Mr. Castle's jet waiting in front of the hanger." He said pointing.

As they came around the back of the hangers they saw the big black Jet. "That plane is huge!" Kelly said. "It's just for us?" She said looking shocked.

"It's defiantly bigger then the G3 I use for work." Jordan said as Tony drove up to the plane. As they came along side of the big black jet she saw CASTLE in red across the side. "Subtle." She said smirking.

"Not dad's idea. They painted it like that for his last book tour." Alexis said as she got out. They saw a male and female pilot standing next to a tall brunett dressed in a classic stewardess outfit. Alexis walked up to the pilots. "Hey Phil, how was the test flight? Is the big bird ready to go?" She asked.

"I took her straight up at Max speed and she didn't even make a sound. She's all good to go. I understand we're staying in Chicago for the weekend and coming back Monday morning?" He asked.

"You guys are but we're staying. You'll only be carrying one passenger back." She said as Jordan and Kelly came over. "Jordan, Kelly Meet Phil and Jill Carter. They're twins and the best pilots in the world. One time they got us out of a freak storm over Kansas with little more then a few spilled drinks." She said Hugging the two. "And this is Carrie, Jill girlfriend." She said hugging the other woman. "Guys this is Jordan and Kelly." She said. As they all shook hands. "Now lets get going, I know dad ordered full breakfast and I'm starving." She said following the twins onto the plane with Carrie closing the door behind them. The plane inside was nicer then Jordan's apartment. Everything was plush light brown carpet, red wood, and soft cream leather. They buckled up in seats facing each other and Phil came over the plane's speakers.

"If everyone is buckled up and ready to go, we'll be taking off. We will be flying at a nice 500 MPH at 15,000 Feet to get the best views. We'll also be landing at Midway to give you a good view of the Windy City as we come in for a final approach.

Carrie Knocked on the cockpit door and sat in the seat up front. In seconds they were sitting on the runway and after that they were in the air. "Wow that was smooth." Jordan said letting go of the arm rests.

"What did you expect from the best?" Alexis asked smiling at her,

"Well with the way he said he ran his test flight it sounded like this guy was a speed freak." She said relaxing into the seat.

"He does that to test the plane, if he really beats on it and feels anything he has the mechanics tare the plane apart and we either barrow a friends jet or we fly commercial, and they meet us at the destination for the flight back home." Alexis said.

"Has that ever happened?" Jordan asked.

"Once and the mechanic found a short in the fuel system that could have brought the plane down half way over the Atlantic Ocean." Alexis said

Carrie came over with a tray holding champagne glasses full of Orange Juice. As Frank Sinatra's Come fly with me drifted out of the cabin speakers. "Fresh squeezed, with a splash of pineapple. For the girls, and a Mimosa for you." She said handing out the glasses.

"Phil is having a rat pack phase again?" Alexis asked.

"You know Phil, it's a clear blue sky, sun on his face and Sinatra in the ear." Carrie said smiling.

Jordan took a sip and nodded. "I think I love this." She said running her hand over the leather chair.

"Wait until you try Carries omelets she make three good ones. Denver, Philly cheese stake, and four cheese. And the hash browns. Well you'll see." She said making the table come out more. Carrie came by with a tray full of plates. As she set them out the three women got more excited. "Thanks Carrie, this looks great." Alexis said.

"Only the best for Rick and his family. You know that." She said patting Alexis on the shoulder.

"Did you eat yet?" Alexis asked.

"No, but I made a plate, It's in the back." She said.

"Well come and eat with us. You're family Carrie, you know that." Alexis said taking her bag off the seat next to her.

"I didn't want to impose. You have guests." Carrie said blushing.

"They're not guest Carrie. This is my little sister and my future mother." Alexis said making Jordan choke on her drink. "What? You know it's true. And with the way you keep playing with my dad you'll be my mother by Christmas." Alexis said. "So come sit with us Carrie." She said.

"Okay, I'll be right back. I want to hear more about this." She said walking back to the galley area to pick up a plate. "So what's all this about?" She asked sitting next to Alexis.

"Well, me and Kelly fixed her mom up with my dad." Alexis said.

"Really? And he didn't catch on?" She asked popping a melon bite in her mouth.

"I'm sure he did, but when you're getting set up to be with a woman like Jordan are you really going to complain?" Alexis asked.

"I see your point. She's hot." Carrie said giggling with Alexis.

"Hey, I'm right here you know." Jordan said smiling.

"I know, but no one asked you, I'm telling a story." Alexis said laughing before turning back to Carrie. "They've been going at it like teenagers. It's been very cute. Like I said they'll be moving in with us in a month and her and my dad will be married by the new year." Alexis said.

"It's nice that you told her what's going to happen but I think you should let her speak on the matter." Carrie said.

"Thank you. It was hard to sit there and not speak up. Her time table is dead on." Jordan said smirking.

"Really mom?" Kelly asked.

"I'm sure of it. I mean I'm really into Rick for the long haul. He's perfect. And I'm sure I can talk him into it." She said shrugging.

"Rick's the best guy I've ever met." Carrie said. "I started out as a flight atendent working for the Twins and Rick tried my cooking the first flight. He pulled me over and thanked me for a great meal. He then asked if I had a restaurant. I said no, I just cook for flights. When we got back to New York he took me to a block of stores on the corner of 11th and 60th and said pick one. It turns out he bought the block from a friend and wanted to open a few restaurants and shops. In a year I had my own place, and business was booming. Now I only cook and serve Rick and his family. This is the only plane I work on." She said with a big smile. "Because of Rick I'm a four star chef and a millionaire. So I can't talk the man up enough." She said.

"Wow." Jordan said shaking her head.

"You know dad loves being an investor in Carrie's Corner Bakery. Plus how many times have we eaten for free?" Alexis said holding Carries hand.

"Not enough. You're looking thin again." Carrie said holding up Alexis' hand.

"I'm not thin." She said.

"What ever you say kid, eat up." Carrie said in a motherly way.

"Yes Carrie." Alexis said rolling her eyes.

"I love you kid." Carrie said slinging her arm around Alexis' shoulders.

"Rick just walks through life performing random acts of kindness doesn't he?" Jordan asked smiling at the by play.

"You have no idea." Carrie said. "It's just the way he is."


	9. Chapter 9

Back in New York Rick was fixing a dummy on a couch. He stepped back and nodded. It looked just like the crime scene they found on the shrink's office. He even got copies of the case files for the two murders that were committed by each other by the men that met on the fairy. He already set up the second scene outside by the back parking lot. Now all he needed to do was bring the group in and see if they got stumped to the point of figuring out the switch. He looked over the white board in the room and made sure all the facts were right before going to the door. "Come on in and meet Ashley Cosway, age 32. She was a couples councilor, she was found by her husband Jason Cosway also 32 years old at 11:25 PM. Ashley suffered three GSWs to her chest and died trying to get the phone to call for help. Walk around the room, look over the real crime scene photos and ask me anything you think can help you solve this case." Rick said standing off to the side as the eight agents walked around the room.

"Was this a case you solved?" Will asked.

"It was." Rick said.

"What was the time of death?" Olivia asked reading over the case file.

"Between 8 and 9 PM." Rick said.

"Does the husband have an alibi?" Melissa asked looking closely at the photos.

"He does, he was with a friend the whole night. They went to a basketball game." Rick said shaking his head.

"A bit lucky don't you think?" Dash said mockingly.

"Now, Dash are you trying to sagest that the husband killed his wife?" Will asked rolling his eyes.

"Noooo, I would never make that leap. It's only the case for like two thirds of all murdered spouses." Dash said smirking.

"I wouldn't call the husband out yet, look at the writing on her face. Psycho, Rapist. You're time is up, and it's spelled YOUR and not YOU'RE. The husband is a well educated man, do you think he's going to make a spelling error like that?" Olivia said.

"He could have if he wanted to throw us off his scent." Justin said. "I used to frame my older brother for things all the time."

"Her jewelry was stolen?" Carmen asked looking meek.

"It was taken." Rick said giving her a smile. He wanted to encourage her the most.

"And this white residue on her right sleeve do we know what it is?" Mike asked looking at the chalk dust Rick smudged on the dummy's sleeve.

"You won't get the test results until later. We're going to do this by real world time frame, or close to it. You will not be given all of the facts at the start of the case. Facts will be given to you as we got them." Rick said.

"How was the marriage? Do we have any neighbor statements?" Fay asked.

"The marriage was rocky. A lot of fighting and two of the neighbors think they were cheating on each other. Note the dinner for two? That wasn't for the husband and her last meeting was scheduled for 6." Rick said.

"Were they cheating on each other?" Justin asked.

"No, and the husband is really broken up about his wife's death. Later you find he might have been cheating on her. You have no proof just the gossip of the next door neighbor." Rick said.

"But we're sure he's a cheater." Olivia said nodding.

"Dose that matter?" Melissa asked.

"It does. If they were in a committed relationship the odds of premeditated murder go down. The fact that he's sleeping with someone else means he can cognitively reframe killing his wife to end the relationship." Olivia said looking at Rick as she said it.

"Moss, if you're trying to read me to get the answer your not going to secede. This is way too much fun for me." Rick said smiling.

"Oh I know that. You like to play games." Olivia said smiling at him.

"I'm also not going to sleep with you to give you the answer." Rick said shaking his head. "You my friend are a sociopath." He said patting her on the head.

"So?" She said looking indifferent.

"Excuse me, but What caliber was the slugs you pulled out of the victim?" Mike asked.

"Small, maybe a .22." Rick said. "And dispatch just called you have a pop and drop on 109th street. We will all head over there now." Rick said leading them out of the room and down to the back parking lot.

There was a ten foot square was caution taped off. On the ground was a dummy dressed like an old guy and a white board with evidence. A few agents were gawking at the set up. "Hey look it's like a real crime scene, we have rubber neckers. Hello agents, if you excuse us I'm trying to run these guys through some crime scene practice." Rick said greeting the three agents.

"Yeah, sorry, it's just this is a pretty good set up you have here." The taller of the three said.

"It should be, it's taken from real life." Rick said backing them up. "Okay guys meet Frank Anderson. A retired math teacher. He was shot in the back while he was out taking his nightly walk. He was found by a cop patrolling the park." Rick said standing off to the side.

"One shot to the back, this wound looks huge. What was it?" Mike asked looking at the photos.

".45 or .357, you won't know yet." Rick said.

"Was this a mugging? It's says his watch and wallet are missing." Will said.

"It looks like it." Rick said nodding.

"Are these the only fact we get for this case?" Melissa asked.

"They are, and it's going to take the right question to get any more out of me. Just like real life, a random killing in the park is the hardest thing you can solve but if you ask the right question. If you knock on the right door. They can be some of the easiest to put together." Rick said smiling.

"This is way harder to solve then the one upstairs. No leads, less evidence, it could be random, or it could be something important. It's Castle remember. He could be hitting us with this case to take our attention off the case upstairs. This could be a trap." Olivia said looking at Rick.

"She's right you know." Rick said with a smirk. "I could be trying to overwhelm you. Take your attention off the case upstairs. You could stop me from doing that by splitting up. There are eight of you, Four more then we had that night. Form two teams and attack these cases separate or stick together and try to solve them one at a time. I can tell you that the rest of this day is going to run at the speed of a week. At the end of the day, if you don't have both cases solved they go away into the cold case box and you never know who killed these two people. But if you can solve both cases your team gets one hundred dollars per team member. If one of you solves your case and the other team fails your team gets all $800. I see I have your attention. Now the question remains, are you going to split up into teams and try to score all the cash or are you going to work both cases and try for the double win?" Rick asked pulling eight Ben Franklins out of his pocket.

"Shit just got real people." Will said looking around at the other agents. "The question is: Is he plying us? Or are we playing ourselves? We can get both cases solved. If he did it before then we can do it now. The question then becomes, do we slit up?" He asked.

"You guys are burning day light. It's 11am right now, By 3pm one of these cases are going to get a good break, one that could net you a win. But if you don't have a killer and evidence as to why they did it by five the case goes cold and you lose." Rick said looking at his watch.

"Shit!" Olivia said. "He's playing us. I know it. Let split up. Hill, give us one of your agents to balance the teams out." She said.

Melissa looked at her fellow pool agents. "Any one want to go with them?"

"I'll go." Fay said.

"Okay so the teams are Will, Olivia, Dash, and Fay Vs. Melissa, Carmen, Mike and Justin. Let the games begin. I will be sitting in Jordan's office today. When you have a question come to me. Olivia's team will set up in the conference room in our office. And Melissa's will set up in the pool. If we catch a real case we will pause the game and restart it on Monday. Oh and you get new clues on the hour, they may be good, or they may be a distraction." Rick said laughing as he walked away.

"That man is very devious." Said Carmen.

"You have no idea. I've looked up some of the cases he's worked on in the past. His solve rate is extremely high." Olivia said.

Rick walked off the elevator on the tenth floor and Avery was waiting for him with a stack of files. "A Jr. Agent from white collar left these files for you." He said handing Rick a big stack of files.

"Great. These are the murder cases I asked for. I'm glad Peter sent one of his guys to get them for me." Rick said looking at the files.

"If they bring anymore up I'll tell them you're in Jordan's office." Avery said.

"Thanks. I might be onto something with these. If I find anything good I'll come to you. If not then it was just busy work for Peter's Jr. agents." Rick said shrugging. He walked into Jordan's office and took a seat in front of her desk. He set the files down and grabbed the first one off the top and started to read. He was interrupted by Olivia and her team. "Yes?" He asked looking up at them.

"It's noon, we get new clues on the hour." She said.

"That's right. The dinner guest is a lawyer named Brandy Rossi the victim called Mrs. Rossi and asked her some legal advice. She said she wanted to know how to file a restraining order. Rossi thinks it might be about a client." Rick said.

"At what time did she come to the office and at what time did she leave?" Olivia asked.

"She arrived at 6:30 and left at 7. She went to a bar to have drinks with work friends and they place her at the bar at 7:15."

"What dose the husband say about this client?" Will asked.

"He has no clue, the victim took her job very serious, and didn't tell him anything about any of her clients." Rick said. "And your time is up, as the other team is here. Out you go. Think that over." He said shoeing them out the door. "Hello Melissa. What can I do for you?" He asked.

"New clue." She said smiling.

"New clue? Oh, right. The neighbor said that the vic took a walk in the park every night at the same time. Like clock work." Rick said.

"Is the park in a ruff neighborhood?" she asked.

"It is, and there is a local gang that is known to hang out in the park." Rick said with a smile.

"Right." She said walking out of the room.

Rick shook his head. She wasn't asking the right questions and she came up here alone. She was missing things her team might have picked up on. He went back to his files. An hour later and Olivia came marching across the office. "Yes?" Rick asked looking up at her.

"Clue Castle." She said.

"Right. Clue. You look into people with violet histories and you find one guy. Hal Ross. But it's a dead end. He does give you a name of a guy that was yelling at the good doctor in the session before his, but opps. I wrote it down wrong. Your going to have to unscramble the name out of these three words. It's a two word name. and there are way more letters in the clue then you need." He said handing her a slip of paper with three long words on it.

"You have got to be kidding me Castle. This is not funny." She said getting mad.

"You're right. It's not funny. It's brain work. I can tell you this if you go back to the crime scene you will find the name. Now go to work. It's noon. Buy one, if you don't have the name I can't give you the next clue. If you can't get it before one then you don't get the next clue at all and you get the one after that which really won't help you." He said.

Melissa came back up and this time her team was with her. "Hello guys. It's good to see you. Last time Melissa came up by herself." Rick said.

"And she took half a clue, right?" Mike said looking at her with a smirk.

"Very perceptive Mike. And because it took you until now to figure it out that other half of the clue is gone. I told you guys to ask the right questions. Now, cops arrested a mugger that work that park. He was found with a .45 caliber handgun. Now to see if the ballistics match the slug pulled out of the victim you have to put together this 200 piece puzzle. You have one hour to bring me a picture of the puzzle with five pieces missing and sitting next to the puzzle." He said handing Melissa the box. "And, team leader, the next time you come up here with out your team I'll send you on a wild goose chase. You're only as strong as your team." He said before going back to the file he was reading.

He stood up and stretched. He was half way through the 23 files and he had nothing. Nothing matched the case he had. He looked at the three files he set aside and scratched his head. Parts of the three cases felt the same but the particulars were all wrong. He stood up and walked out of the office. He walked over to the conference room and looked in. Olivia was standing at a tech board and it was running combinations of names. And the other three were looking at the white board they brought up with all the information on it and they were checking names. Absent was the fake day planer he put on the desk downstairs with all the names associated with the case. He shook his head and walked to the elevator. The point was for them to stop using all the fancy toys to do their thinking for them. He tricked them into taking that case because the clues were right there just waiting to be picked up. It was so easy to figure it out. They should have had proof that the husband killed her and the video of him at the game was supposed to restart the clock. Just like it did with him and Kate. Instead they took the bate he gave them with the anagram and now they were wasting time. He rode the elevator to the fifth floor. There he found the conference room with his other team. They were all trying to put the puzzle together. At least they were working as a team. That was the point of their case. To show them that they were only going to make it as a team. There case was all about the puzzles he made and bought. He rode the elevator back up to the tenth floor and ordered five pizzas, two each for the teams and one for him.

He went back to his reading, until Olivia came into the office. "What's the guys name?" Rick asked.

"Even Hinkle." She said.

"And how did you find this name?" He asked.

"The anagram." She said looking cranky.

"Pity." Rick said. "The next clue is Even canceled his meeting and instead the victim had lunch with the man she had a screaming match with." He said.

"And who was that?" She asked

"Olivia, can I ask you a question?" he asked smiling up at her.

"Sure Castle, what do you want to know?" She asked back sarcastically.

"How much time did you spend looking over the crime scene? When you went back for the white board did you even stop to look around?" He asked.

"No, we got the board and walked out." She said looking a little red from embarrassment.

"Can I let you in on a little secret? You guys got the easy case. The fact that it took you until now to figure that out is staggering. The answers to all of your questions are downstairs in the crime scene. In fact the answers to almost every question have been just sitting there waiting for you to pick them up. Go away and think about what I just said. Talk it over with your team." He said going back to his file.

Twenty minutes later Melissa and her team came up. "Puzzle is done. Clown fish? Are you making fun of us Castle?" She asked.

"No I'm not, if you think really hard that puzzle was another clue. Also, your ballistics came back negative. But I do have a clue for you, unfortunately it wont make much sense with out the clue you guys didn't get. I can tell you this the missing clue can be figured out if you really go back and look at the clues you have so far. I can tell you the last clue I gave the other team will get them extremely close to solving their case. Are you ready for your clue?" He asked.

"Yes Castle. Spit it out." Melissa said looking mad.

"The victim's apartment is rent controlled. If it stays in the family it stays rent controlled. You have two questions to figure out the missing clue. Talk it over between your selves." Rick said looking at his watch as they huddled up.

"Is the missing clue about who told us about the victims nightly strolls?" Melissa asked.

"It is." Rick said looking excited.

"Is the clue that a family member told us about the strolls?" She asked with her eyes closed.

"Dimmit! See what happens when you work together? The son-in-law told you about the night time walks." Rick said. "You new clue is salt, the victim had salt dust on his wrist and clothes. You have a few minutes to think about that as you have a late lunch. I ordered you guys two pizzas and I ordered the other team two pizzas. A pepperoni and a veggy. Go back to your room and think about what that last clue has to do with anything so far and eat your pizza." Rick said waving them out of the room.

Melissa looked at her team. "Do you guys have any idea what salt has to do with anything?" She asked.

"Not a clue, then again Castle did say some clues would help us and some clues would slow us down. Maybe this is one of the slow clues." Mike said shrugging.

"Maybe, but Rick is more devious then that. I bet it's the clue that solves the whole case and we wont know what to do with it until later." Carmen said.

"True, look he jammed us up for not working together. This could be a trick." Justin said. When they got to the conference room they saw four pizzas sitting on the table. "We must have just missed the pizza guy." Justin said.

"Wait, they left all the pizza here. Two of these were supposed to go back up to the tenth floor." Melissa said.

"I'll take them up, and see how they're doing." Mike said grabbing two pizza boxes. He took the elevator up and walked across the bullpen to the conference room. "Hey guys, Rick ordered pizza, but they left them all in our room. These two are yours." He said putting the pizzas on the table. "So how's it going?" He asked.

"Badly." Olivia said. "We screwed up big time by not looking over our crime scene toughly and wasted two hours. We went back down their and found fake clues he made just for us to help with facts we could have got if this was a hot case. Things like the vic's husband took three million dollar life insurance policy out on her a month before she was killed. We were super sure it was the husband until we found a flash drive with a clip of the game on it showing the husband at the game the minute his wife was killed." Olivia said tiredly. "What about you guys?" She asked taking a piece of veggy.

"We got screwed over because Melissa came up here by herself and missed a clue. He told her off for it and until we worked as a team he wouldn't give us the clue back." Mike said shaking his head.

"You have to admit the man is about a hundred times smarter then us when it comes to things like this." Olivia said walking over to the white board.

"And he knew our weakness and played on it." Will said balling up a piece of paper and tossing it at the turned off tech board hanging on the wall.

"And he's giving us clues within clues. He gave us a puzzle of clown… Fish! Son of a BITCH!" Mike said almost pushing Olivia out of the way to get to her white board. "He gave us a puzzle of clown fish and said it was a clue. We couldn't figure out how it was a clue until now." Mike said pointing at the picture of clown fish in the fish tank, in the therapist's office. "Guy's I think our cases are connected." Mike said.

"You have got to be kidding me?" Olivia said looking at the picture.

"Do you think they were related in real life?" Will asked.

"I don't know but they're related now. I'm calling my team. He split us up to stall us. We're looking for the same killer." Mike said calling Melissa. "Melissa, bring the white board and everything we have up here right now. These two cases are related. Castle screwed us…. I know if we solve one as a group then we all get paid. If we solve one we might solve both." Mike said.

"Bloody Castle." Dash said.

"Tell me about it. When we found all the records in the fake office I knew we were playing with a mad man but this is crazy." Fay said.

Melissa walked in carrying the pizza as Justin and Carmen rolled the white board in. "Clown fish." She said looking at the photo and shaking her head.

"Not only that but Salt. The white dust on her clothes." Mike said pointing to the dust.

"Salt." Melissa said laughing. "We need to brief you guys on what we have and vice-versa because we are looking for the same guy."

Rick looked out the glass door as the second team and their white board came up. He smiled and shook his head. Lets hope they can get it before time runs out he thought as he went back to his reading. So far he had four cases that felt the same but had big difference to them. He looked at the stack and saw it was down to the last ten files. If he didn't find one that was an exact match then he was shit out of luck.

Ten minutes later all eight agents walked into Jordan's office and crowded around him. "Yes?" He asked looking puzzled.

"Both cases are connected." Olivia said.

"And what makes you say that?" Rick asked.

"Salt." Melissa said. "You told us the white dust on our victim I salt. Is the white powder on the therapist salt?" She asked.

"It is." Rick said smirking.

"We need to question both the victims families together and see what they have in common." Mike said.

"This is everything your victim's daughter and son-in-law knew about the victim. Use this list, and everything you have from your victims office to find your suspect." Rick said handing them a page with words and numbers and facts. "Who made the connection about the two cases?" Rick asked.

"I did." Mike said turning red.

"Good job Mike. Half of all cases I've ever help solve get broken because of some small fact. Remember that." Rick said.

They left the office and Rick tucked into his pizza. He was close. He had five cases in the maybe pile and the to read pile was getting down to the last five cases.

Twenty minutes later, and the whole team was back in the office. "Grovner." Will said.

"What was that?" Rick asked looking up from his file.

"Grovner. It's the only name on the list that matches anything in the office." Will said.

"You cracked that one Will?" Rick asked will.

"I did. This guy is the only connection to the two victims." Will said.

"Your right. Wesley Grovner is a convicted sex offender. That got out of jail two weeks ago. He got into a fight with the school teacher because your victim thought he was messing with the kids in the school and your victim was seeing Grovner with his wife for his addiction to messing with little kids, and your vic testified in court that he did have a thing for kids." Rick said handing out the money. "Now are your ready for the biggest FU I ever got form the goddess Fate? He didn't do it." Rick said.

"What?" Will asked looking shocked.

"He didn't do it. He was under house arrest at the time of the murders. And the fish tank? That was a bust too. The salt on the victims was the same, but not from the tank."

"You've got to be kidding me?" Olivia said looking confused.

"You're telling me. I was the one that was sitting there looking at the two white boards the morning after we found out this information. Do you have any idea how messed up we were? Do you want to know something else?" Rick asked and when he saw he had everyone locked on his every word he smiled. "The two cases? They are connected, and if you figure it out I will lobby to have you all assigned to the case I'm trying to figure out right now." Rick said holding up the files he had spent the whole day trying to find.

"You heard the man, we need to find the other thing that connects our two victims." Will said.

Rick smiled at them as they walked out of the office. When the team got back to the conference room they all started talking. "Okay!" Will said. "That's enough. I want everyone to stop and think. We've been going at this for five hours and it was only when we put our heads together that we figured out the Grovner angle. Which by the fact that we got paid was the whole point of the day. We have a little under one hour to figure out what he did. For the next ten minutes I want everyone the dig deep and really try to think about everything the man said today. Because as we figured out before this he's given us everything we needed to get here. I bet he gave us something to solved the cases too. I want this win so bad I can taste it and we will stay here until dawn if we have to, but we are getting this win." Will said.

"Will's right. He's been testing us all day and now we need to figure this out." Olivia said.

"We should write down the things we think he told us today and share them as a group. I think we can get in his head that way." Melissa said.

"Good idea. Write it all down and we'll go around the room." Mike said. Tearing off pages from his legal pad and passing them out.

Ten minutes later Will looked up. "Are we done?" He asked.

"I think we are." Melissa said looking around the room.

"Okay I'll go first. He told us to look at every detail. And study ever fact." Will said.

"He told me a leader needs to consult their team or they mess things up." Melissa said.

"He told me that sometimes a tiny little thing can be the key to the case." Mike said.

"I got, study the facts and not the computer studying the facts for you." Olivia said smiling.

"There is no such thing as coincidence." Justin said.

"I got, Rick is crazy. But that's not a bad thing, sometimes you have to think crazy to catch crazy." Dash said laughing.

"Don't miss anything." Fay said.

"And always look at the white board." Carmen said standing up and rolling the two bards side by side. "We have to look again. He set the boards up like this for a reason. He told us he gave us everything. We just have to see it." She said standing on one side of the table looking at the two boards.

Everyone got up and stood next to her looking at the two boards.

"These two men defiantly killed these two people." Olivia said. "They have motive, and means it's just time." She said.

"Maybe they did do it but M.E. messed up the time of death?" Mike said.

"Maybe." Will said balling up his piece of paper. "I know this son of a bitch killed his wife. I know he did. Look at his face. He's got paunch me face." Will said thrown the paper at the board. The picture of Jason Cosway fell off the board.

"Now look what you did." Carmen said walking around the table to pick up the picture. "You knocked our prime suspect off the list… But he's not our prime suspect is he?" She said looking at the photo. "He's got an alibi. A nationally televised alibi." She said.

"You on to something Carmen?" Olivia asked coming around the table to her.

"Maybe. Both of these guys have alibis for the murder we think they did right?" Carmen asked.

"Right." Olivia said smiling.

"Okay. Look at the time lines." She said grabbing a marker off the table. "Both men have an alibi for the murder we think they did but look at the time frames for the other murder?" she said circling two empty time gaps on each of the time lines. "look they match." She said.

"Oh my god." Mike said. "You take my murder and I'll take yours." He said coming around the table. "Hitchcock. Strangers on a train!" He said taking the two photo and sticking them to the other board.

"You're saying that these two men that have no connection to each other met up and talked each other into killing for them?" Justin asked.

"I do. In the movie these two guy meet on a train and start complaining about their wives. The complaining becomes planning and bingo, two murders, on the same night done during a time when they have an airtight alibi." Mike said shaking his head.

"All right. I'll go get castle. You three stay right there and be ready to explain it to him." Will said running out of the room and over to Rick. "Rick I think we cracked it?" Will said.

"You're kidding? It took you guys 45 minutes?" Rick asked stacking files.

"Is that faster or slower then it took you?" Will asked smiling.

"Slower. It took me five minutes. Lets see if you get extra credit." Rick said walking into the conference room. "Impress me." He said taking a seat in the center of the conference table.

"It was Carmen's solve." Olivia said patting the other woman on the back

"We were talking and we were sure these guys killed the victims they had motive, but they lacked the opportunity. Then Will got mad and tossed a paper ball at the board and Cosway's photo fell off the board. When I picked it up I looked at the two time lines and I saw the gaps lined up perfectly. Marx had plenty enough time to get over the Ashley's office and kill her and then make it to the party. And Cosway had enough time to kill the old man and still make it to the office and call the cops." She said.

"That's when it hit me. Strangers on a train. You take my murder and I'll take yours." Mike said.

Rick clapped. "Very good. I can tell you the two men met on the fairy and plotted the two murders. Marx cracked under a prisoners dilemma and confessed. Cosway is serving life in prison for one count of murder in the 1st, and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder. Marx is serving 15 years for murder. It took you guys just under forty-five minutes to make the same connection I made in five, but my inspiration came from a phrase. Yours came from a paper ball. I want you to remember that. The solve, the thing that takes you just that little bit past the evidence to the solve can be anything. If you're always thinking about the case then inspiration can hit you at any time. Good job people. This weekend I'm going to look over the files I have one more time and I should have something by Monday. I think we should do this every week we are not working a real case. I have over two hundred cases just as crazy as this one. That should last us a little bit. What do you say guys, did you have fun today or what?" Rick asked.

"Your dam right I did. This was the most fun I've had since I got here." Dash said.

"Me too, and I learned a lot." Olivia said.

"So what is the case you're working on?" Will asked.

"On Monday morning the garbage men found a dean girl in a dumpster. She had no identification on her person, and there were signs of prostitution. She was shot 15 times in the chest and arms with a 9mm." Rick said pulling the file out of his bag. "My friends in the twelfth caught the case and on a tip from me they found the hotel room she was staying in. Her name was Marry Rubiniwts, 17 years old. Illegal immigrant for Estonia. No evidence. No DNA. No leads. Nothing. Now here's the sad part, my friends, they got a new case on Wednesday so they had to put this case in the cold box. They gave it to me because they knew I couldn't just let it go. But then I started really looking at the facts and I knew this wasn't the first time this guy did something like this. I had Jordan pull up a list of all the unsolved female murders with multiple 9mm GSWs. I looked over the list of 198 and narrowed the list down to 23 cases. Today while you guys solved these two murders I looked through the files and came up with 7 possible murders that could have been committed by this guy. On Monday, I'm going to hand you guys Marry's file and the list of 198 cases. I want to see if you guys pick the same 23 cases I did. Then I'll give you the case files and see if you guys pick the same 7 files. If you guys come up with the same 7 files then I know I'm on to something and we can take this to real agent. Jordan volunteered to run it down if it's real but I think we should ask someone else first. We don't want the department head to waste time on a bad case. I'll talk to my boss Ken and see if he's willing to look at a potentially hot case. I know he doesn't want to put himself under that much stress, but he's the guy that taught Jordan to be a profiler. As for this week, I think we're done. Good job guys. See you all tomorrow for a study secession run by Olivia on theory. I told you guys where I live and you are all set to come at two. I'm ordering deli meats form Katz's deli and you are all staying for the poker game at 7 right?" He asked.

"I think we're all in. Should we bring anything?" Melissa asked.

"Yes, your brains and some cash, we play for money people, and my friends from the NYPD don't play for fun." Rick said smiling as he stood up. "If you guys can collect all the evidence from the two cases into these folders and leave them on my desk that would be awesome. I want to offer it up to Jordan as a homework assignment for her class. That reminds me, when will I be getting some classes?" He asked.

"It depends," Olivia said. "If you keep getting good scores on the tests you might only have to take a few classes. But if you're teaching a classes like today I think you might get a pass. You don't need practical help. If you can ace the theory test then you might only need to take the advanced classes." She said shaking her head.

"Cool. I want to take advanced weapons 2. I want to buy a cool assault weapon." Rick said with an evil smile. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." He said grabbing his half eaten pizza and walking into the elevator.

"He's here less then a week and he's teaching a class and might test out of jr. classes." Olivia said.

"And I'm not even mad at him. He's a good guy. He could have tested out of class and never even talked to us. He works for Ken, not Jordan. He could have sat in his office all day and not said a word to us. Instead he's bringing us up to his level." Will said taking things off the board.

"That man is a genius." Carmen said defensively.

"Someone's a fan girl." Fay said smiling.

"I am not!" Carmen said blushing. "I just think he's really nice, and he made us into this team and now I won't get washed out of here. Since I left Quantico I've been fearing every test. I started out in white collar and in two months I ended up in the Pool. Last month I failed three of my practical test. Two days ago I almost cried tears of joy when they gave me until next week to take my test before washing me out. If he can keep me in the FBI, even for a few more months then I will follow his every move. And I'm not the only one that should." She said looking at the rest of the Pool agents.

"I agree, today I felt like an agent for the first time ever." Mike said picking up the clown fish photo and smiling. "I came up here to drop off a pizza and saw this on the board. I put the two things together and I was off and running. We should be paying him. Not the other way around." Mike said.

"I say we work this case with him and try to be as much help as we can." Melissa said. "It's the way we can pay him back. You know if he thinks there's a connection then there is. If he stays late, then so do we. If he needs something, we bring it. If Jr. agents work for agents, then us pool agents work for him." She said looking at her team.

"And we start picking up the bill every once in a while." Justin said grabbing a slice from the box on the table.

"How old are you anyways?" Dash asked.

"24, Why?" Justin asked.

"What did you skip a few grades?" Olivia asked.

"Home schooled, I got into Stanford when I was 17. I have a PHD in computer engineering." Justin said smirking.

"Right, so your new name is Dr. Kid. All in favor?" Fay said and everyone said aye. "Them the motion stands. Help out Dr. Kid and I'll buy you a beer to wash that down." She said patting him on the head.

"You think you just insulted me, but all I heard was you're buying me a drink which technically means it's a date." Justin said smirking at her. That set the group off.

Rick walked over to his car and saw Peter standing by his black Ford. "Hey Peter." Rick said with a tired smile.

"Hey Rick, I didn't see you today. What happened?" Peter asked.

"I spent the whole day sitting in Jordan's office reading over case files trying to find a serial killer that may not exist." Rick said putting the pizza box on the roof of his car.

"Is that dinner?" Peter asked.

"It was lunch too. I ordered the large. No women folk around to tell me I can't eat a whole pizza." Rick said.

"Jordan and the girls go some where?" Peter asked.

"They went to visit my mother in Chicago for the weekend." Rick said looking sad.

"Well if it's just you at home why don't you follow me home and have dinner with Elle and me. She's making pot roast." Peter said with a smile.

"I don't what to get you in trouble Peter. Having a dinner guest drop by unexpectedly is going to put you in hot water." Rick said smirking.

"She'll be fine with it. Come on." Peter said.

"Okay, but you call your wife to tell here and I'll come by in a bit. I want to go get a bottle of wine. It's not cool to show up empty handed." Rick said.

"Good idea. I'll see you in a bit." Peter said getting into his Torus.

Rick got in his car and pulled out his phone.


	10. Chapter 10

Jordan was walking down the Magnificent Mile with Martha with the girls in front of them headed. They were loaded with bags and talking. "So, how is Rick fitting in at work?" Martha asked.

"Better then any Jr. Agent I've ever scene. Besides the corner store robbery he solved a jewelry store robbery and helped set up a dirty adoption lawyer on his first day and then yesterday evening I get a call from my counterpart in Tactical saying Rick coached the Pool agents in the shooting range and bought them all new guns. Then he had the nerve to come up to my office and say he was board." Jordan said laughing.

"That's my boy. If he's not doing something then he might die. At lest that's how he acts. He's been like that since a little boy. It's why he learned all those things when he was a writer. Sure he told everyone it was for the books but the truth is he couldn't sit still long enough to write more then one book. He needed to do something. He ended up taking her along for most of it." Martha said pointing to Alexis.

"Is that so?" Jordan asked thinking. It made sense really. He was hyper. "Does that mean he's always going to be a pain in the ass?" She asked.

"I'm afraid so dear. If you're thinking about sticking around for the long haul you might want to think about that. He can get insufferable at times. Of course you would be the first smart and normal girl he's ever dated so it might make things easier on you two." Martha said looping her arm with Jordan's.

"Oh I wouldn't go throwing that word normal around just yet. I can be plenty abnormal when the mood strikes me." Jordan said smiling.

"Good. Every relationship need a little abnormal in it, but too much can be a bad thing. You need a little order and chaos. A little funny and sad. A little good and bad. Life works in balance without one you can't have the other. But never forget it when things are bad. When you have an important case and you two have been at it for three days and your tiered don't fight over something small. Take that energy and go have a quickie. Frustration sex is the best dear." Martha said with a mischievous grin on her face.

"I'll remember that." Jordan said blushing.

"Oh come on dear, we're two grown women. Some of us more grown then others, and we're just talking. I will never take sides in a fight unless one of you is being crazy. Now when you move into the apartment do you want me to move out? I know some people would feel weird living with the in-law so I can be out if you want me to." Martha asked.

"What!? No. If anything I like the fact that you live in the house too. Things are slow right now but when they do pick up we might get called away very suddenly. I like the fact that you're home to look after the girls. My mother lived with use when I was married to my ex. She raised Kelly. I was always in and out of the city. Always on the move. I'm a big supporter of multi-generational households." Jordan said holding Martha closer to illustrate her point.

"Good. I love Alexis more then my own son. It would kill me to leave her." Martha said smiling.

"So if I said I was not cool with you living with us what would you have said?" Jordan asked.

"Nothing dear. When we got home I would have made sure the relationship failed. Now that I know we're on the same side I can make sure things go smoothly." Martha said patting her hand.

Jordan laughed and hugged her. "Good to know I have a partner in this. What can you do to help things along?" Jordan asked.

"I already started. The girls will be out of your hair for two weeks. When I get back I'll talk to him and tell you what he said. We'll work him from two sides until we get you two on a good footing." She said as they walked into a store.

Jordan's phone rang. "Hey Rick, we were just talking about you." She said smiling at Martha.

"Good things I hope?" Rick asked.

"Oh no. bad things. I'm getting dirt on you from your mother." Jordan said.

"Everything that evil woman says is a lie." Rick said laughing.

"I'll bet most of it is true. So how was your day?" She asked.

"I spent most of the day cooped up in your office reading case files. I also ran a class on solving cases. For the Jr. agents and the Pool agents." He said.

"Really? You taught a class?" Jordan asked.

"I mean if you want to get technical I taught the pool agent how the shoot yesterday so I taught two classes. I don't see what you Special agent are always complaining about. Teachings is not that bad." He said smirking.

"I'm going to make you eat those words Castle. Your going to teach my class when I get back." She said.

"You're on." He said.

"So did you find a killer or what?" She asked.

"Maybe, but I'm going to have the group run down all the things I did to see if they end up with the same seven cases before I even bring it to you. I don't want to waste your time on something that might turn out to be nothing. I also want to run it buy Ken and see what he has to say. I figured I could do it Sunday at dinner. I'm still on for dinner right? Did you call Betty and tell her your not going to make it?" Rick asked.

"Yeah, I called her a few hours ago. She says she's still excited to meet you. So are Sam and Jenny. I sent you directions to the house in an email." She said.

"Good to know. Are you guys having fun?" Rick asked.

"We're with Martha, how can we not be having fun?" Jordan said.

"True I guess." He said laughing.

"What about you? You're going to be home alone." She said feeling bad.

"I'm having dinner with the Burke's. Elle's making pot roast." Rick said.

"Good, I was worried about you being home alone." She said smirking.

"Nice to know you care. Have fun in Chicago, with the girls and the Nice hotel room and the good food and all the fun." Rick said in a winy tone. "I'll just be stuck at home eating a nice home cooked meal with friends and playing poker tomorrow."

"Well have fun with that. I love you, and I'll call you tomorrow." She said smiling.

"I love you too." Rick said hanging up.

"I love you." Kelly mocked with a smirk.

"No I love you." Alexis mocked for the other side of her.

"No I love you a thousand times over." Kelly said making kissy faces.

"No I love you a million times over." Alexis said.

"Knock it off you two." Martha said swatting at the two girls. "Leave Jordan alone. She young and in love. When you two find love you'll act a lot worse." She said hugging the two girls.

"Yeah, and it's all your fault that I'm acting like this. You're the ones that set us up." Jordan said smiling.

"And we couldn't be happier with the outcome." Alexis said.

"Yeah. I think Rick a great, and I love Alexis." Kelly said holding Alexis' arm.

"Good to know." Jordan said slinging an arm around the two girls. "Now lets keep this train moving. I want to relax on this trip and not fight my way through crowed stores all day."

"Well it won't be all day, we have dress fittings in two hours and we have dinner reservations at the Ritz. After that we have tickets to MacBeth tonight at the Goodman Theater." Martha said walking with them.

"Dress fittings?" Jordan asked.

"Yes dear. We are going to see three shows this weekend and all three of you need dresses. You can't go to the Theater dressed in rags dear." Martha said.

"Oh great." Jordan said rolling her eye.

Peter answered the door for Rick who was carrying a bottle of red wine in one hand and a pastry box in the other. "Come in, dinner is almost ready."

"Great, I'm hungry and tiered." Rick said walking over to Elle who was standing by the kitchen. "Hey Elle, sorry to spring this on you at the last minute. I brought a good wine and chocolate éclairs." Rick said setting the items on the counter and hugging her.

"Let's see what you brought this time." She said shaking her head. "A 2003 Pine Ridge Cabernet." She said smirking.

"My wine dealer said it was the best." Rick said taking off his jacket. "I bought a case."

"This is a $90 bottle of wine. To go with my pot roast. The food is going to taste like dirt." She said laughing.

"Like I said, I have a case of it in my trunk if you want the rest. The éclairs were more expensive, but they are the best in the city." Rick said shrugging.

"Your going to go broke if you keep living large Rick. I can tell you now the take home for a full time agent is not good." Peter said.

"I invested in Google, Microsoft, and Apple. The smart phone wars have netted me so much money I think I'm making like a few hundred dollars an hour clear. I think I'll make it on an agents pay." Rick said.

"Wow. I wish I would have done something like that." Peter said.

"The key is to know the company heads. They let you buy enough stock to become a share holder. Once your in that bracket the pay out is ridicules. It's why I can let Neal keep the winnings. It's why I can front you any amount of cash you need for a bust. It's why I know there's a place in New York that makes a $40 éclair that tastes like it was made by the gods." Rick said smirking.

"Hey Elle, can Rick invest our money for us?" Peter asked from the table.

"No honey. We don't have any extra money to play the stock market." Elle said smiling.

"I could always split the winnings with you from game Neal is playing tomorrow. The take away is $900,000." Rick said.

"I wouldn't know what to do with that kind of money." Peter said laughing.

"You would be surprised at how fast your brain comes up with things as soon at the cash is in hand. The first advance for Storm Rising was $50,000. That money went so fast I didn't even see it. The advance for the last Niki Heat book was 15 million. It went right into Alexis trust fund." Rick said.

"Most people don't talk about money. I would have never know you could get so much for writing a book." Peter said.

"Oh that's just the advance. The back end is going to be three times that. It's the last book I'm writing." Rick said.

"I don't know how you can give up that to sit in an office with us." Peter said.

"Easy, I like doing the work. I like solving murders and putting killers away. I like it more then any other job I've even had. I like it so much I'd pay the FBI to let me work cases." Rick said shrugging.

"I guess I can see that but, still." Peter said.

"Are you guys ready to eat?" Elle asked setting a plate in front of them loaded with meat and vegetables.

"Man this looks good." Rick said looking at his plate.

"I tastes better. Elle's pot roast is the best." Peter said as Elle came to the table with her plate.

"Thank you Honey." She said kissing him.

"You two are the best. I hope Jordan and I can be like you two." Rick said smiling.

"I hope so too. You guys are really good for each other. Are they having fun in Chicago?" Elle asked.

"They sounded like it. Plus there with my mother. Martha Rodgers doesn't know how to not have fun." Rick said shaking his head.

"Well good. Jordan works just as hard as Peter. They both need a vacation. Maybe now he'll take time off." Elle said.

"I can't just take time off. I the head investigator in white collar. What if something really important comes up while I'm gone?" Peter said.

"Let your team handle it. I'm sure Rick would pitch in and help. You said he was smart enough to solve your last case. I'm sure he can handle anything else that comes along." Elle said smiling.

"I would be happy to help around the office Peter, it might be hard next week, but any other time I'm sure I'll be able to do it." Rick said.

"What's going on next week?" Peter asked.

"I'm looking into a possible serial killer. I don't know if it's something or nothing yet but I'll know more on Monday when I get a chance to look over the evidence. I know it's going to take a fresh crime scene to get any good clues. This guy is good, if he's even real." Rick said shaking his head.

"You don't know? How can you not know? don't they follow a pattern?" Peter asked.

"Peter I don't think this is polite dinner conversation. Murder investigation can get a bit gross." Rick said looking apologetic to Elle.

"I don't mind, is a real murder investigation like the ones on TV?" Elle asked looking interested.

"Elle loves CSI." Peter said rolling his eyes.

"I can say it's almost nothing like that. Your almost never going to find a small spec of blood that will lead you to a killer. Finding good physical evidence at the crime scene is hard. A body could be sitting for days. Skin cells die and turn to dust, hair blows away in the smallest of breezes. Rain washes away blood and finger prints. Through and through gun shot wounds leave holes but no slugs. Shiny bass shell casings attract animals that like to pick things up and run away with them. Then after you have a suspect you need evidence to get them to talk, or you really need to know how to play a guilty person. And you only get to talk to then until their lawyer shows up. Then they clam up and then you have to make the evidence stick." Rick said thinking about all the cases he worked in the last three years.

"Wow. I would have never thought about any of that stuff. Peter usually deals with a lot of evidence, and things like that." Elle said.

"Well white collar crime is a lot different then murder. The mind of a person that robs a jewelry store and the mind of a killer are two very different things. Sometimes you get desperate people that steal for a reason like the woman we found two days ago. And then you have thieves. They get off on the feeling they get when they take something. For them it's not about the object or the money. It's about the thrill. Neal is like that. He likes the rush. It's why he likes working cases, the rush you get when you fined a bad guy is close to the rush you get from committing the crime. It's why I gave him the money he won yesterday. He played a con, and used his skills to make money off of those guy at that game. If I would have taken the money back it would have reminded him he's not a con any more. That he belongs to the department. But, by letting him keep his winnings he was able to get the rush and feel the pride in socking the cash away. With time and the right encouragement he'll be able to work a case, get the rush of the win and not feel like a con. He'll start to feel like an agent. When his time is served up he'll be begging you to stay on and work cases." Rick said.

"Do you really think so?" Elle asked looking hopeful, while Peter looked skeptical.

"I know it. I know because I was the same way. I started working with the cops as a way to get close to a female detective. I goofed off and made her life hell and was a total ass hat for a few weeks and then we caught a case of a prep school kid shot in the park. He was 15 years old. A two years older then my own kid. He went to one of the best schools in the city. He got good grades. He had two parents that loved him. He even had friends. We chased leads that went nowhere for days without getting anywhere until we came back to the group of friends. Then a video was shown to us of one of the kids shooting his friend. A day later we found the kid that pulled the trigger dead. The thing is he was loaded beyond being able to even move and his finger was bruised. Someone helped him end it all. The evidence pointed to the leader of the group. This smart ass like kid that saw way too many cop shows. He thought he was safe until we brought him into the interrogation room. Beckett. The cop I was messing with wasn't getting any where and I was getting pissed off. I was so angry that this punk kid killed two of his friends and he was going to get away with it. I started talking. I didn't even know were I was going with it until I started laying out the story like one of my plots and I could see I was getting to him. When I explained how he planed it all he smirked and I wanted to grab him by his shirt and slam him through a wall. But instead I kept talking. Telling him he was so smart, saying he did it. And he said exactly. One word that sealed his fate. One simple word that showed he was the mastermind behind the whole thing. From that day on I was hooked. I still acted like a jerk, it was the way I acted back then. Spoiled writer jerk. But as the cases kept coming I began to change. I stopped goofing off as much. I started acting like a cop. I stayed late and study the white board more. In time I stopped caring about Beckett and started caring about the cases more. The wins kept feeling better and better. The next solved case felt better then the last until I needed it. Catching killers is a heady feeling. Once you've hunted a the world most apex predators the rush can never be felt by doing anything else. It's been three weeks since I've chased a real killer and I'm board out of my mind. No offence Peter but white collar is just too slow for me. You guys work long cases. I'm used to finding a body on a Tuesday and finding the suspect by Friday." He said between bites.

"You really know how to tell a story Rick." Elle said shaking her head.

"It's what I was paid to do for a long time." Rick said smiling.

"Yes well, I hope you're right about Neal. It would be great to get him to stop doing things behind my back." Peter said.

"You'll know if he comes to you in the next few days with the flight recording." Rick said.

"Lets hope so." Peter said.

"Trust me Peter, I just outsmarted all of my fellow Jr. agents and five Pool agents today. I think I can keep track of one con man. Neal wants to fit in, he wants a family. He needs a father figure. He needs friends that don't have to be guarded about what they say to who. Give him a place to fit in and he'll keep coming back. That's why I want to encourage his relation ship with Sara. She plays a con for the good guys just like him. Insurance investigators track thieves and trick them out of the things they took. It will give him someone to model his new life after and it opens another avenue of possibilities for when his sentence is up. The two of them working together could be very good." Rick said handing Elle his plate as she stood to clear the table. As she poured the coffee the bell rang. "Speak of the devil and he shale appear." Rick said as Peter got up.

Peter opened the door and saw Neal and Sara standing on the front step. "Hey Neal, Sara come in." He said letting them pass. "Rick's here, we just had dinner." Peter said.

"Good, Rick you've got to here this." Neal said "Elizabeth, do you have a laptop we can borrow?" He asked looking nervous.

"Sure Neal." She said grabbing her Macbook from her bag.

"What are we listening to?" Rick asked.

"The flight recorder from the plane." Neal said.

They listened a few times and Rick shook his head. "It's good that we have it but it needs to be scrubbed for better sound. I know a guy that can do it. He's former CIA so we can trust him. He has no involvement in anything." Rick said pulling the CD out of the computer. "He's not cheap so you know he's good. I'll call him and see if he's available." Rick said standing up and putting on his jacket. 

"Where are you going?" Neal asked.

"Relax Neal." Rick said holding his shoulder. "This guy is old school spook. I need to call him from a pay phone. There's one about ten blocks from here. I'll be back in ten minutes with a time frame and pick up date and time. Why don't you and Sara sit down and have some coffee, or a glass of wine. I've got another one in my trunk. In fact why don't you come out and get it Neal." Rick said pulling him out the door. When they were outside Rick patted him on the back. "I'm sorry you had to hear that so many times. I know it was hard. But look, you came here first and things are getting done fast. I'll probably do a drop off tomorrow and he'll have something for us by Monday, Tuesday at the latest. Aside from that how are you doing?" Rick asked pulling a box of wine out of his back seat.

"Good I think. Shocked." Neal said looking a little dazed.

"But you were thinking clearly enough to come here tonight. That's a good sign Neal. You keep making good decisions like this and you'll be off that tracking anklet in no time." Rick said handing him the box.

"I still want to bring Mozzie in on this. He's a little strange but he's smarter then he looks." Neal said.

"I agree, but if he's in he's in on a legal investigation. We are not criminals. We bend the law, we don't break it. When we do that things get bad and people die. Those people in there love you. Let them take care of you. As for Sara, man that chick is hot. You should really think about going for that." Rick said.

"I, yeah I guess." Neal said looking confused.

"Just get in the house and relax. You have friends with friends in high places now." Rick said getting in his car.

Neal came in carrying the box of wine. Peter was talking to Sara and Elle was in the kitchen. "Rick said he'll be back in a bit." Neal said still confused. He knew Rick was in his head playing him. He knew he was talking him in circles. The thing he had to think about was if he should just let him keep doing it.

"Good, sit down and eat. I made pot roast." She said putting a plate in front of Sara and one next to her.

Neal knew Rick was playing him but looking around the room at Peter and Elizabeth, and Sara. He knew he was going to let him keep doing it. If this is what it was like on this side of the law maybe it wasn't so bad. The food was better then prison. That was for sure. "He gave me a whole case. Where should I put it?" He asked.

"Just set it on the counter, and sit down." Elle said guiding him to the counter to set the box down before turning him around to sit in the chair.

"This is very good." Sara said looking up from her plate.

"It's called home cooking. Something you two need to look into. Here," Elle said handing her a glass of wine and setting one next to Neal. "It's a 2003 Pine Ridge Cabernet." Elle said drinking her third glass.

"That's a $90 bottle of wine." Sara said. "Let me guess, Castle?" She asked.

"You know it, do you want a bottle to take home with you? We apparently have a case full of it." Elle said smiling.

"I don't mind if I do." Sara said taking a drink and nodding.

"That's Rick for you." Neal said shaking his head.

They heard Rick's car pull up outside. Peter got up to answer the door but Rick burst in carrying his black metal briefcase, out of breath. "He can make the pick up tonight." Rick said out of breath.

"Do you want us to go with you?" Peter asked.

"No, it will spook him. I'm meeting him in fifteen minutes in the park. Elle do you have a shopping bag?" Rick asked setting the case on the counter and opening it.

"I do, does it matter where it's from?" She asked pulling a shopping bag full of folded up shopping bags out of a cabinet.

"Black I guess would work best." Rick said pulling five stacks out of the case and setting them on the counter.

"It's going to cost fifty thousand to hire this guy?" Neal asked looking shocked.

"No It's going to cost three times that much, but he's worth it. He'll have the number she dialed, the person that owns that number where they are now and a cleaned up copy of the recording. He will also be on retainer for the rest of the year." Rick said putting the money in the bag along with the CD. "I'll be back in a half hour to tell you what happened." Rick said taking the bag and walking back out.

"Did he just say he was paying $150,000?" Sara asked looking confused.

"He did." Peter said.

"And he left the case on the counter." She said.

"He did." Neal said looking at the case left open with $250,000 in hundreds just sitting there.

"He's not worried about it?" She asked.

"Why would he be worried? Were Federal agents. The only one here not a fed or married to one is you. Are you going to steal it?" Peter asked.

Neal looked up at that and smiled. "I asked you to come here Sara, you're not going to steal are you? It would look bad on me too you know?" He said taking a drink.

"If anyone is going to do anything it's going to be you Neal." She said rolling her eyes.

"Not me, I'm done being a bad guy. I'm a good guy for a day and I'm up $150,000, and Rick is going to get information that I would have never found. I'm walking around the best city in the world, in a hand made suit, and the food is really good." Neal said nodding to Elle. "Prison has none of this and that's were I'll end up if I keep being a bad guy."

"So, Mr. good guy, if I was to ask you about a panting stolen five years ago, a Raphael, would you know where it is?" She asked smiling.

"Look, all joking aside, if I could find this painting, and I'm not saying I took it! If I could find this painting, what would I get in return?" He asked.

"Well I get five percent of the painting's value. The painting is worth twenty million dollars. That's a million dollars. I could split the fee with you." She said honestly.

"And what if I want a date?" He asked smirking.

"A date? You were just making a big deal out of $150,000, I'm offering you half a million and your asking for a date?" She asked looking at him like he was crazy.

"Some things are worth more then money." He said without looking up.

"What was that?" Sara asked looking shocked.

Neal looked up at her. As he opened his mouth to speak they heard Rick pull up out front. Peter got up and so did Elle. As they walked to the door Neal smiled. "No games," He said shrugging. "I like they way we banter, I like the way you don't fall for my charms, and I, I like you." He said looking down again.

"I like chasing you Neal. It's been fun. I chase criminals. I can't be with one. If you're serious about this new life change then I'll agree to one date. But if I find out your running a game on me I'll make sure you see the inside of a cell." She said looking at him. She didn't look away until he looked her in the eye.

"I'm not running a game. Like I said, I like being a good guy." Neal said.

Outside Peter and Elizabeth greeted Rick out the front porch. "We're just giving those two some space." Elle said smiling.

"Really? Well things are going better then expected. Did the case come up?" Rick asked.

"You left it there on purpose?" Peter asked.

"Sure I did, I'm rich, not crazy. I don't leave money just out in the open like that." Rick said.

"Neal is trying to go straight." Elle said smiling.

"He offered Sara the painting he took five years ago." Peter said.

"Is that when things got so awkward that you left your own house?" Rick asked.

"She said she would split the finders fee, and he asked for a date." Elle said excitedly.

"Cute. I told him to do that." Rick said.

"The painting?" Peter asked.

"No, the date. I told him it's what normal people did." Rick said.

"We should go back in." Peter said.

"Let me go in first, and then you two come in a minute behind me." Elle said.

"Okay." Peter said.

When Elle walked in Rick turned to Peter "How can I take Neal anywhere in the city with out setting off alarms?" He asked.

"What are you planning on doing now?" Peter asked looking at him suspiciously.

"Neal has this painting, it's stashed somewhere in the city. If we get it and put it inside her house it will keep the game going without really breaking any laws and it kills a few birds with one stone." Rick said.

"Good point, I'll call it in when you go." Peter said before opening the door.

"So how did it go?" Neal asked.

"My friend has the disc and will have everything by Monday morning. Hopefully we'll have your killer by Monday night, if not we will be hot on his tail." Rick said.

"Wow. That happened fast." Neal said looking shocked.

"What did you expect? I only deal with the best. Why do you think I came to work for white collar?" Rick asked sitting at the table.

"I think we're all ready for some dessert." Elle said setting a plate with six éclairs on the table. "Does any one want coffee?" She asked setting out cups.

"I know I do. I've been up since six and I only got five hours of sleep, on a chair. Thank good I didn't leave the office today. I don't think I can shoot straight. It must be really late." Rick said yawning.

"It's only nine o'clock old timer." Neal said.

"Oh these are good. Where are they from?" Sara asked.

"I own a small stake in a great restaurant on the upper west side. It's a small café called Carrie's Bakery. They make some of the most expensive food in New York but its worth ever cent. These came form there. I called and ordered them so they're fresh. The desserts are good but there breakfast items earned them a four star rating." Rick said.

"I'd love to try the food sometime" Sara said.

"I can call in a reservation for brunch tomorrow if you all want to go?" Rick asked.

"Trying not to eat alone Rick?" Peter asked.

"Totally. I hate it. That reminds me you, Neal, Jones, and Diana are invited to play poker in my Law Enforcement game every Saturday night. I know you two are busy tomorrow night but next week you guys should all drop by. We play cards, and talk cases. Sara and Elle, your invited too, if you guys want to come over. I have good booze, and good food." Rick said smiling.

"I'll come next week and take your money." Neal said smiling.

"Speaking of which, I wanted to stop by Donovan's house tomorrow and rattle him until his give me his tell. I know you don't need it but we don't want to chance it." Rick said.

"Good Idea." Neal said nodding.

"So what do you guys say, brunch on me tomorrow at ten?" Rick asked.

"We can make it." Elle said nodding at her husband.

"I'd like to go too." Neal said looking at Sara.

"Sure why not. Where is this place so I can take a cab." Sara asked.

"You take cabs?" Rick asked.

"Sure I do, doesn't everyone in this city?" Sara asked looking confused.

"Yeah Rick, what's wrong with cabs?" Elle asked.

"You too Elle?" Rick asked. "Cabs are terrible. Half of them smell weird and the other half are driven by crazy people. Both of you take one of these." Rick said pulling out a black business card holder and shifting through the stack of cards he pulled out to black cards that said Black Car. "I partially own a car service. It's the only one I let friends and family use. They have twenty cars driving around all day and night. You call the number and a car will pick you up in lass then fifteen minutes. They drop you off and they charge your account. You can settle up the bill at any time and because your family and friends you get half price rides. You save money and don't have to worry about sitting in some drunks guy's puke." Rick said.

"I don't know this is kind of inconvenient. I can walk out to the street and hail a cab at any time in this city." Sara said looking at the card with a raised eyebrow.

"Why don't you try it for a few weeks on me and tell me if you want to go back to cabs. Give it two weeks and I bet brunch anywhere in the city on me that you'll never go back to cabs again." Rick said.

"I'm in, this will look more professional showing up to meets." Elle said putting the phone number into her phone.

"Okay, I guess." Sara said putting the card in her bag.

"So we're all in for tomorrow at ten?" Rick asked pulling out his phone When he got nods from everyone he called Carrie's. "Hey Parker it's me Rick, the éclairs where perfect as always. I wanted to make a reservation for five for brunch tomorrow… ten… I think a tasting cart will be a good place to start so set that aside, and we'll order anything else. Thank you Parker." He said hanging up. "We're all set. Now I'm headed home. Can I drop you guys off?" Rick asked. Giving Neal a look that said say yes.

"I'd love a lift if it's not too much trouble." Neal said smiling.

"I guess I'll take you up on the offer too. I'm beat." Sara said standing up.

"Peter, it was nice of you to invite me to dinner." Rick said patting him on the back before pulling Elle into a hug. "Thanks for dinner Elle, it was great." He said.

"Thanks for the wine. You guys should take some with you." She said handing Neal and Sara a bottle.

"Alright you two let's get this show on the road." Rick said leading them out to his car with his black case. "Were do you live Sara?" He asked getting in.

"76 Perry St. in the west village." She said as she slipped into the back seat.

"Right. We'll drop you off first. I'm upper west side like Neal." Rick said.

"Thank you for doing this." She said smiling when Neal got in next to her.

"Not a problem. Besides I can speed whenever I want, I'm a fed now." Rick said punching it up to sixty. "I love this car." He said turning off the side street and onto Broadway.

"Having fun Rick?" Neal asked.

"You have no idea. So what's it like being an insurance investigator?" Rick asked.

"Fun, I track criminals and steal back stolen property, for five percent of the value." She said smiling at Neal.

"That sounds really cool." Rick said.

"Sara is the best investigator in the world. She ran down eight of the ten most expensive paintings ever stolen." Neal said.

"It would have been nine but I could never find this stolen Raphael." She said shaking her head.

"I'm sure it will turn up at some point." Neal said as they pulled up to her house. Neal got out and walked her to the door. "Thank you for bringing the recording to me. I swear I didn't steal it, but a can tell you I helped put it back." Neal said looking unsure.

"I know. The break in was too clumsy for you. But I knew you would know where it was. I had a good time tonight. Running around with you feds was fun. I'll see you tomorrow for brunch." She said not knowing what to do next. She wanted to kiss him. He wanted to kiss her. Both of them were uncomfortable . They ended up standing there for a minute not knowing what to do.

"Kiss her Fool!" Rick yelled out from his car.

An old lady stuck her head out of a window. "Hey pipe down! Some of us are trying to sleep!" The old lady yelled.

"Back inside lady, this is official FBI agent business!" Rick called back holding up his badge.

The old lady wave him off and shut her window.

Sara laughed and pulled Neal in to a kiss. "Now get out of here before Mrs. Katz calls the real cops." She said pushing him away.

"See you tomorrow." He said walking away with a smile on his face. He got in the passenger seat and turned to Rick. "I can get used to this good guy thing." Neal said.

"Well Mr. good guy we need to clear out some of your old bag guy stuff before we go any further. Where's the painting?" Rick asked diving away.

"It's in the trunk of a 1973 Datsun 240Z." Neal said.

"Where is the car?" Rick asked pulling over.

"In a storage locker in Long Island." Neal said.

"Is there anything else in the locker beside the car and the painting because if the Marshals ever track your GPS from tonight they will find the locker." Rick said.

"There is a lot of stuff in that car, but there are a lot of cars in the three storage units in have." Neal said feeling uncomfortable.

"Are they all hot cars?" Rick asked.

"Not really?" Neal said shrugging.

"What's that mean?" Rick asked.

"Well the cars are not stolen, they are all titled under my other alias. And all bought with counterfeit cash. I'm pretty sure the auction house never figured that out but I was never quit sure. Peter caught me right after that." Neal said looking a little red.

"Okay, so what are we talking about? Three, four cars?" Rick asked.

"Five rare classics and the Datsun." Neal said.

"Right. I can fix this. It's just not going to be legal or cheap, but it can be fixed. But if I do this you have to swear to me you are out." Rick said looking at him.

"Rick, I've never felt so clean in my life. I can't promise I won't slip up and get into something but a can swear to you I will never going looking for trouble." Neal said holding out his hand.

"Good enough for me." Rick said pulling out his phone. "Miguel. I'm coming to the shop keep your trusted crew on hand. I have a job of you." He said.

"I got you dog. Head on over." Miguel said.

"I've got a guy that used to specialize in boosting and stripping cars. He's mostly legit now, but he's still willing to do odd jobs for the right price." Rick said driving to the garage.

Ten minutes later when he drove into the warehouse turned chop shop turned custom shop. There were eight guys standing with Miguel. Rick got out and shook his hand. "Miguel, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine, Neal. Neal this is Miguel. Can we talk in your office?" Rick asked.

"Sure dog, follow me." Miguel said leading them to an office in the corner. "So what you want me to do?" He asked.

"My friend Neal used to be a thief, he was caught and put in jail. He's out now and he needs to get his savings out of storage. Neal tell him what we're dealing with."

"In a car storage place on Long island I have five rare classics and an old Datsun. All of the cars are titled in a fake name. we need to get something out of the Datsun but as soon as I go in there my tracking anklet will show me going there. Coming here can be explained. Going there can also be explained. But if they go there after me and track my location to a storage locker with a hot car then I'm in deep trouble and I'm trying very hard not to do that anymore." Neal said.

"Okay. I see what you're talking about but what are the cars we're dealing with?" Miguel asked.

"A 1937 Mercedes 540 roadster, a 1966 Austin Healey 3000 MkIII, a 1955 BMW 507 Roadster, a 1956 Porsche 356 Speedster wide body that used to belong to Steve McQueen and the green 1967 Mustang fastback used in the stunt chase in the move Bullitt." Neal said.

"Holy Shit." Miguel said looking excited and sick.

"You have the car from Bullitt?" Rick asked in a voice somewhere stuck between a choked whisper and a scream.

"Yes, I bought it at the Steve McQueen auction." Neal said smiling.

"I don't care what the price is I want that car." Rick said dead serious.

"Aint no body getting nothing for a while dude. Those are some super rear cars bro. We need to Barn find then." Miguel said.

"What?" Rick asked still stuck on the car.

"Barn find them or crazy dictator buy them. What we do is take the cars and load them onto a train. We move them to Mexico where my cousin has a huge shop. We store them and one at a time we "Find them" for the Mercedes and the Austin Healey we ship them to another country, put them in a barn, cover them up in dirt, hey, and shit. We take lots of pictures and we write up a bill of sale to you Rick for the car. Then we ship them here to the shop and take pictures of the shit covered car and a floor full of rusty parts. We write up a fake work order for the car, and in a year you can take delivery of the car. Then when you sell it you have pictures and papers for the whole process. As for the Mustang, the Porchse, and the BMW we ship them to a country in south America and sell the cars to a fake Drug king pin. Then the Federalys bust the fake dictator and sell the cars at auction to my cousin in Mexico. He then puts it on a train and ships it back here with the fake bill of sale and the newspaper clippings of the car being impounded by cops. Now the car has a story as to where it's been for the last six years. It wont be easy and it won't be fast but it will be totally clean. You can turn around and sell the cars at Beret Jackson if you want. They wont be able to clime they are hot because they're as clean as can be." Miguel said.

"What about the Datsun?" Neal asked.

"That one is real easy. we strip it down to parts and make out fake Junk yard receipts for all the parts. We re-build it, make it custom to the point you can't even tell it was the same car and title it as a rebuilt title. It's what we do in this shop. A week ago Rick's BMW was a wreck we pulled out of a scrap yard. Five days later he was driving that sick bitch. One week and you'll have your car back, and it will be better then it ever was. We like tuners here. Look at this sick 240Z we did last summer." Miguel said pulling a book of the shelf and flipping to the middle. There was a flat dark gray 240Z with black wide body wheel arches and a carbon fiber hood. The bumpers were removed, the car was sitting on massive wheels and tires and super low to the ground.

"I like it all except the paint and hood. I'll pay for this car out of my pocket." Neal said.

"How much is the rest of it going to cost?" Rick asked.

"For the transportation, storage and shipping it's going to run you $25,000 a car. For the rest it's going to depend on the car. Figure a tenth of the price of the cars to file the paperwork and fake the drug bust and auction. All told you're looking at about three million easy. But the three cars can be put up for auction the second they come back form the fake drug bust, and the turn around on that is going to be quick. Figure six months tops." Miguel said.

"When do you need the money by?" Rick asked.

"Soon. The men I'm working with don't deal in credit. It's cash in hand or your shit out of luck bro." Miguel said.

"I have a hundred thousand on me in cash and I can get you the rest tomorrow. But I want the mustang back by December. I'm giving it to Jordan as a Christmas present." Rick said holding out his hand.

"I'm sure we can pull it off. It might end up costing you a little bit more." Miguel said.

"I don't care I want that car by December 25th." Rick said.

"Okay. You want to drive it back to the shop?" Miguel asked.

"Drive it? Why?" Rick asked.

"We have six cars to bring back and we have four flat bed car carriers. Two cars have to be driven back form long Island. The Datsun is headed for junk restoration and you're buying the mustang for yourself so drive it back. If you put miles on the other cars it's going to drop the value." Miguel said. "Unless you don't want the bittersweet feeling of driving a sweet ride like that and having to hand over the keys when you get it here?" Miguel asked.

"I, I'm tempted but, no, your right, I can't hand the keys over if I sit in it." Rick said shaking his head.

"Then I'll have Johnny drive it back he was a professional wheel man once." Miguel said. Going over to talk to his guys.

"Rick, not to sound ungrateful for the help but, um how can I say this?" Neal said looking red.

"You want to know how you get paid?" Rick asked standing by his car.

"Yes. I set up this stuff as a retirement stash." Neal said.

"Well, we can do this one of two ways. I can buy the cars from you at a little bit under market value minus the three million for the cleaning. Or we both wait until the cars come back clean. I auction them off like they're mine, and give you what I get for them minus the fee without telling anyone. What do you want to do Neal? Take a sure thing and sit on the cash now or bet for the big bucks and wait?" Rick asked.

"I think I'll wait, it's not like I need the money anyways. What am I going to do with it? I'm working here for the next four years and if things get really serious with Sara then I could end up a kept husband." Neal said smiling.

"So you plan on staying?" Rick asked.

"Sure I do. Why wouldn't I? I'm really starting to see the benefits of being on the good guy team. It's all the stolen loot in the Datsun that has me freaked out." Neal said.

"What do you have stashed in the car besides the painting?" Rick asked.

"lets see, I have the Raphael, I have a Monet, I think I also have a Jackson Polack. I know I have about six million dollars in stolen Faberge eggs in a case in the back seat. I have some stolen jewelry in a bag in the glove box and a lock box with a coin collection worth millions. I also have suitcase full of fake hundred dollar bills. I might have some forged bonds too, I'm not even sure what I stashed in the car and what Peter found me with." Neal said shaking his head. "Fruits of a misspent youth."

"Well burn the fake cash and bonds, you don't want to be caught with those. In fact let me burn them, we don't want any evidence at all found in your house. As for the rest, give it to Sara. It must be insured by someone. She can turn it in and get the reward money for it. Then not only are you cleaning house but you're showing her you really mean it when you say you're going legit." Rick said.

"Damn, your right. I do something good and I get extra credit points for it." Rick said looking shocked.

"And you're going to break into her house tonight to leave it for her in a big pile for her to find it to show her you're still you. You just want to be good. You can be a little bad and still be good. Plus the fact that you broke in will piss her off just enough to make her want you more. Girls love a bad boy with a good heart. Look at me, wild rich author, and mild mannered single dad, do you have any idea how much ass I could have gotten if I was in to sleeping around?" Rick said

"Really?" Neal asked smirking.

"Loads." Rick said.

Miguel walked over, "We are ready to go, we will follow you there and back." He said getting into the back seat.

"Lets get this over with, I'm tired." Rick said yawning.

"It's only half past ten. Live a little Rick." Neal said.


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning Sara got up at eight and rolled out of bed. She pulled on her robe and went to the bathroom. When she came out she walked into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. As she turned around to get the cream out of the refrigerator. She screamed in fright. Sitting on her table was a pile of loot and a note that read "I thought you could turn in some of this stuff for the reward money. I'm not saying I stole it, I'm just saying you might be able to get something out of it." There was no signature but she knew it was him. For the next ten minutes as her coffee brewed she fluctuated between being really mad that he broke into her house again, and being extremely excited by the amount of money sitting on her table. "Damn it Neal. Just, Damn it." She ended up saying with a big smile as she pulled out her phone. "This is Sara Ellis, I need an armed transport from my house to the office. I'm sitting on about a hundred million dollars worth of loot, and I don't want to be responsible for it…. Good and you better have the funds ready to transfer to my account." She said hanging up. "Damn it Neal." She said folding the note and putting it in her jewelry box.

Neal was just getting up when there was a knock at the door. "It's too early Rick, you just dropped me off." He muttered as he pulling on a gray robe and answer the door. It was Mozzie. "Hey Moz. That better be espresso in that cup." Neal said.

"It is, are you going to let me in or are we not friends any more?" Mozzie asked.

"What are you talking about Moz? Of course we're friends." Neal said letting him in.

"Because you haven't called me in four days, and the last time we were together you pushed me out of a car saying you would call me when you could talk." Mozzie said.

"I know Mozzie, I have some stuff I have to tell you." Neal said sitting across from him. "Mozzie, I'm going straight." Neal said.

"What do you mean straight?" Mozzie asked looking confused.

"I'm going full legit. No more crime. No more cons. No more scams. Nothing. I'm out. Fully." Neal said.

"WHAT!?" Mozzie asked.

"I. am. Out." Neal said taking on of the cups.

"Like for the duration of your time with the suits?" Mozzie asked.

"No like for the rest of my life." Neal said smiling. This was more funny then he thought it would be.

"But how are you go live?" Mozzie asked.

"What are you talking about? Just because I'm out of a life of crime doesn't mean I don't have all of my skills. I made $150,000 cash two days ago and it was legal. I can read people still, I can play cards. I can paint still. I can sculpt. There is such a thing as a legal copy you know? My time as a con man has turned me into a renaissance man Mozzie. It's not like I'm hurting for money, Rick helped me clean out my life savings last night." Neal said.

"Rick? You mean Castle? The author? Is he the one that's filling your head with all this junk?" Mozzie asked.

"It's not junk Mozzie. It's normal." Neal said smiling.

"What about Kate? Did you listen to the CD? Are you still looking for her killer?" Mozzie asked. He was sure this was all a joke.

"I put the it back." Neal said.

"Put what back?"

"The package. I drooped it through her mail slot two days ago." Neal said.

"But… I mean why?" Mozzie asked looking angry.

"Because I never needed to steal it in the first place. That's what I'm trying to tell you Mozzie. Sara found it in her entrance way. Opened it. Listened to it. And brought it to me on her own. We took it to Peter's house last night and Rick was there having dinner. He made one phone call to a friend of his, and we will have enough information on the guy that killed Kate to bust them by Monday." Neal said.

"How do you know this guy is not playing you?" Mozzie asked.

"Because he is playing me. He's been in my head since the first day I met the man. He's played my thoughts and emotions for three days and I've loved every minute of it. I have no idea what he's getting out of this game because it's only cost him money since we started. By my count he's down close to three and a half million dollars by playing me. I on the other hand am flush with cash. The last bit of evidence against my is on a train to Mexico, and I'm having brunch at a four star restaurant today with Peter, Elizabeth, Rick and Sara." Neal said putting his feet up and his hand behind his head.

"But? I mean…. why?" Mozzie asked.

"I've been wanting to ask that question since this all started but I'm almost afraid to find out." Neal said. Mozzie was about to say something when there was a knock at the door. Neal answered it and saw Rick standing there with two big Starbucks coffees. "Hey Rick. I was just telling Mozzie I'm out of the game." Neal said letting him in.

"How is he taking it?" Rick asked.

"Not well. Maybe you can explain it better?" Neal asked.

"What's there to explain? Neal is out." Rick said sitting at the table.

"But why?" Mozzie asked.

"I see I'm going to have to explain a lot to you. Neal, get dressed, we have three stops to make before brunch and we don't want to be late." Rick said.

"Right. Don't kill each other." Neal said walking through the door to in the back of the room.

"Okay, Mozzie is it? I'm going to lay this out as candidly as a possibly can. The guy in there has friends in the FBI. He's worked with then, solved cases with them, and he's been in bad situations with them. Every time he does something bad he gets in trouble. Then Peter has to risk his job to get him out of trouble. This makes Peter look like an idiot in the FBI because he's risking his career for a con man. But for Peter it's not just a can man. He treats Neal like a son. So does Elisabeth. I don't know if you know this but I'm marrying into the FBI. Jordan and Peter are like brother and sister. So to save my future brother-in-law any more heart ach I'm getting Neal out of the game. He's to smart to do stupid things. Now I don't know if your too stupid to see the connection or you just don't want to see it because it means your cash cow is gone for good." Rick said shocking Mozzie. "So I'll make you a deal. Ten million dollars to leave now and never talk to him again." Rick said.

"How Dare You! It's not about the money! Neal is the only family I got!" Mozzie said standing up for the table.

Rick smiled and nodded. "Good answer." Rick said waving for him to sit down. "Neal! Really go get dressed please, I wasn't kidding. We have to get going!" Rick said.

"Right, sorry." Neal called from the other room.

"That boy is predictable beyond belief. Look Mozzie. Just because Neal is out doesn't mean you have to be. In fact it could be very beneficial to the department for you to be in the game. You just can't drag Neal into it." Rick said taking a drink from his cup.

"But without Neal what's the point?" Mozzie said slumping over in his chair.

"Then get out too. You con guys amass all these skills and you waste them on pulling jobs that will get you caught and put away. Then what? Your doing five to ten for pulling the wrong job and the government took all your loot. You get out in six years and the world is six years older. All the knowledge you had about safes and alarms and the way the world works is old and useless. You end up broke. Living is some old safe house the Feds didn't find trying to figure out what to do next." Rick said watching Mozzie as he talked. He knew he had him. The question was, is it worth the time and energy to get him out of the game. Neal was easy. The work he was doing for the FBI had already got to him. It took less then three days to pull him out of the darkness, but this one he wasn't so sure.

"I don't know what to say." Mozzie said smiling a sad smile.

"You told me three days ago you had an idea for a book. Write it." Rick said.

"What?" Mozzie asked looking shocked.

"Why not? Look you obviously thought it was good enough to tell me about it. Sit down and write it out. It doesn't have to be good, you have editors and ghost writers for that." Rick said

"I don't know if I could do that." Mozzie said .

"Look since we're being candid here I'll let you in on a little secret. Any asshole can write a book. All it takes is a bit of time and a computer. That doesn't mean it's going to be a good book. Black Pawn, my old book publisher gets about a hundred manuscripts a day. Ninety of them are unreadable trash. Eight of them are good but they need so much work they would be un-profitable to publish. That leaves two books. One is flawless, but unoriginal. The other one is what you want to make. It need some work but the idea is so good it's worth it to fix. I wrote that book years ago and sent it in. a year later Storm Rising came out and sold so many copies they needed to reprint it five times." Rick said.

"Yeah, but that was a great book. I love that book. I own three copies of it." Mozzie said excitedly.

"And it was a total train wreck when I first wrote it. If you don't believe me I'll give you a signed copy of the manuscript, but I have to asked you to never sell it. I can't have people seeing how bad it is." Rick said smiling.

"Oh no, I would never sell something like that." Mozzie said shaking his head.

"Hey you two, you haven't killed each other yet right?" Neal asked coming out of the back dressed in a light gray suit and blue shirt.

"No, in fact I'm trying to talk Mozzie into writing a book. He has all this untapped knowledge about the underworld. He can make a great book series." Rick said standing up.

"I don't think I have anything worth writing about." Mozzie said.

"Come with us and I'll lay it out for you in the car as we go. You're invited to brunch of course." Rick said.

"Brunch, where?" Mozzie asked smiling.

"Carrie's on the upper west side." Rick said.

"You got a table at Carrie's for brunch on a Saturday?" Mozzie asked.

"I can get a table when ever I want, I'm part owner." Rick said walking out the door.

"I'll meet you down Rick. I need to have a few words with Mozzie." Neal said shutting the door.

"Now do you see why I went along with this?" Neal asked.

"I do. I don't know if I can follow you out but I can keep you out of it." Mozzie said looking sad.

"Well I wouldn't count Rick out yet. If he was talking to you about writing a book that means he can make it happen. You're talking about a guy that outsmarting eight Jr. agents yesterday while he was searching for a serial killer. The man is smart and also very devious. What ever you do, never cross him. He out thinks me at every turn and I'm better then you. But if you go along with him it could be very profitable." Neal said pulling four stacks of money out of a hide hole in his mantle.

"What's that for?" Mozzie asked.

"We're going to stop off at a custom car shop. They're the ones cleaning my dirty cars. They're also rebuilding my dream car." Neal said waving the cash around.

"Your stupid Datsun?" Mozzie asked.

"Hey, you watch you mouth." Neal said smiling as they walked down the stairs and out the front door.

"I just don't get it." Mozzie said.

"Get what?" Rick asked standing by his car.

"Neal and that Datsun." Mozzie said getting in the back seat.

"Is he making fun of your dream car?" Rick asked.

"He is. Mozzie has never been a big car guy. He just doesn't get it." Neal said getting in.

"What I don't get is how you can love that rusty 70's import more then the Italian and German classics you have in storage." Mozzie said shaking his head.

"Growing up the cool kid had one. Ever since then I've wanted one." Neal said.

"I get it." Rick said shrugging. "I saw Gold Finger when I was six. The first thing I bought when I had crazy money was a DB4. The day I drove it out of the showroom was the second happiest day in my life only second to the day my daughter was born." Rick said smiling a goofy smile.

"Now see I get that car. But a Datsun?" Mozzie asked.

"Moz if you don't stop saying it like that I'm going to never speak to you again." Neal said getting mad for real.

"Let me handle this." Rick said patting him on the shoulder. "Where did you grow up Mozzie?"

"Detroit." He said.

"The heart of American muscle. Do me a favor and think back to when you were a little kid growing up in Detroit. Picture it in your head. Think about the coolest car you ever saw back then. What was it?" Rick asked.

"Easy, 1969 Chevelle. Plum purple with gold racing stripes. And side pipes. It was so loud it shook the ground as it drove by." Mozzie said smiling.

"A Chevelle Mozzie? A stupid American car? It's not even worth anything now." Rick said.

"Hay! How dare you!… I see the point of this. Sorry Neal." Mozzie said looking a little red.

"Right. We all have that dream car. Neal's is a Datsun 240Z, mine was a DB4, yours is a 69 Chevelle. As a man you know not to judge another man's dream car." Rick said.

"I didn't until just now but I get it." Mozzie said nodding.

"We're going to a custom shop, I'm sure they can build you an awesome Chevelle." Rick said as they pulled up to the bank. "We'll look through the book when we're there dropping of the payment." Rick said before pulling the black case from the trunk and walking into the bank.

"How did he do that?" Mozzie asked.

"Get in your head like that?" Neal asked.

"Yeah, Neal I don't like it." Mozzie said scratching his head.

"When he offers to buy you a 69 Chevelle in a half an hour you'll find you won't mind it too much." Neal said.

"What are you talking about?" Mozzie asked.

"You'll see." Neal said smiling as Rick walked back to the car.

"We'll drop the payment off first." Rick said tossing the case in the back seat next to Mozzie. "I don't like driving around with three million dollars." Rick said driving away.

"Three million dollars?" Mozzie asked looking at the case.

"Yeah, it the payment for the car cleaning." Rick said.

"I also brought forty thousand with me to pay for my car." Neal said pulling the four stacks out.

"Good. Miguel likes when you pay up front, he works faster. Also if you tip him and his guys they put in more time on your car. Do you know what you're going have done?" Rick asked.

"I want the same paint job you have on this car. I want the wide body fenders, and big wheels and tires. I was thinking chrome everything else." Neal said smiling.

"Sweet." Rick said. "By the way this is called Oil Slick Black. It's three coats of pure black and six coats of rainbow pearlescent to give it that oil look." Rick said.

"Nice." Neal said.

"There's three million dollars in this case right here?" Mozzie asked.

"There is. So about the book idea I had. I was thinking you could write about Neal's adventures in crime." Rick said.

"What?" Mozzie asked turning his head away from the case.

"For the book I think you should write. You should write about Neal's crimes. You know, a gentleman thief. And every book will be a different job you guys pulled off. Just re-tell the story of how you did it with a new set of details. Instead of swiping a painting say you took a coin collection. Publish it under a pen name and never show your face in public as the author. You'll generate so much hype you're books we be a guaranteed best seller. Especially after you leak the fact that you're a retired master thief." Rick said smiling.

"Oh wow, that's a great idea. We've done so much over the years, and we've never been able to tell anyone how we did it." Mozzie said.

"And the best part is you're not going to tell them how you did it, you're going to get to plot and plan a totally different way of doing it. You're not going to be writing about past crimes you're going to be writing about future crimes you two never committed so it can't come back to you guys. The art heist you two pulled off in 2004 will happen six mounts in the future. That means you have to scout and plan the heist just like you would if you were doing it for real, and when you have it all down. Every detail you need to do the job and get away with it. Then you sit down and write it out beat by beat. Take your reader inside a heist. Take them inside the museum of fine art in New York. Take them through the basement, though the air duct to the room with the Monets and Vaughans. Make them feel the rush of the heist." Rick said soft enough to make Mozzie hang on his every word.

"Do you think I can do it?" Mozzie asked excitedly.

"Why the hell not? The best movies ever made were con and heist movies. Do you know why? Because everyone deep down wants to do it. They just don't know how, or their afraid of going to jail. You two don't have those two things. You've done it before. You're reads can live vicariously through your main character. And after a few book introduce a new angle. Instead of stealing for himself, he steals for other people. A Robin Hood type of character. People love a bad good guy." Rick said as he pulled into the warehouse. "We're here. Hay look Neal they have your car stripped down already." Rick said pointing to a pile of parts sitting next to the shell of his car.

"Wow these guys work fast." Neal said looking shocked.

"You pay up front and you'll be driving that car in a week." Rick said getting out. "Mozzie pass me the case and come on out. You can look around." Rick said.

"Yeah, here." Mozzie said handing him the case.

"Come on Moz. Walk with me." Neal said putting his arm around his short friend.

Rick walked into Miguel's office and set the case on the desk. "Hey car wizard. I see you started on the car already, did you guys even sleep?" Rick asked.

"Not really, my guys were a little hyper last night and started stripping the car. We just need to order the parts, fit them and we can be in the paint booth buy Tuesday. Things are slow right now, he should have his car buy Friday." Miguel said.

"Good to know, he brought his cash with him. I brought the rest of the three million today." Rick said opening the case.

"Jesus Christ bro. look at all them Benjamins." Miguel said watching as Rick took out stacks.

"That's $2,900,000. Now how much is a 69 Chevelle going to cost me?" Rick asked sitting back in his seat with the case open on the table.

"Well, for anyone but you, a lot. Depending on the donor car you're looking at $125,000 for this one." Miguel said pulling the book down and flipping to a candy apple red Chevelle sitting on big chrome rims and lowered to the floor.

"Hey you two come over here." Rick called out to Neal and Mozzie. When they came into the office Rick turned to the two of them. "I was talking to Miguel about your Chevelle. He was showing me this car he made but that's not your dream car. What are you looking for?" Rick asked.

"Something stock looking, with plum purple paint and gold racing strips, and chrome side pipes." Mozzie said thinking about the car from his childhood.

"How about something like this?" Miguel asked flipping through the book and showing them a stock looking GTO Judge. "We did this one for a guy looking for a Judge without all the hassle of owning a classic car. It has a new engine, nice track suspension, and all the comforts of a new car." Miguel said smiling.

"Wow. You can do that?" Mozzie asked.

"For the right price we can do anything. First thing we do is find a total junk 69 Chevelle, strip it to the frame, re-skin it with new fiberglass panels to make it lighter, and add a new crate big block. For that your looking at $45,000. Custom paint, nice rimes and tires, new interior, and side pipes add another $20,000. Figure $10,00 more to cover labor and your looking at $75,000." Miguel said.

"I don't have that kind of scratch laying around." Mozzie said.

"I do." Rick said pulling eight more stack from the case and tossing them on to the pile. "Build it and when you get ready to paint it call me. Neal tell the man what you want and pay for it, I'll be in the car." Rick said closing the case and walking out. Mozzie followed him. 

"Why did you do that?" He asked.

"What? Buy the car? Why not? You're going to be a famous author some day, pay me back when you can." Rick said getting in his car.

"You tricked me into going legit. I'm on to you." Mozzie said.

"I want you to really think about what you just said. You sound crazy. No one can make you go legit. You have to want to. But the second I told you about the book idea you've been plotting the first book in your head. I bet you have a first draft in a month. When you have it bring it to me and I'll have my editor look it over and work with you. Then I'll take it to Black Pawn myself and force my bitchy ex-wife to publish it. Once you publish the first one the next one is even easier. Pretty soon you'll be sitting pretty in the big ass apartment next to mine with more money then you'll know that to do with it. On that day come to me and hand me eight stacks like I just put on that desk." Rick said smiling.

"Do you really think I can pull it off? This isn't some bullshit your feeding me right?" Mozzie asked.

"God's honest truth. With your knowledge you can write a ten book run in six years." Rick said holding out his hand.

Mozzie shook it. "Good because I have been thinking about it and I think I'm going to start with the job we pulled back in 99. We took a Monet off the wall during a party held in the pent house on the 96th floor and Neal base jumped out of the window with the loot. It was the coolest job we ever pulled." Mozzie said.

"Neal base jumped out of a window?" Rick asked as Neal got in the car.

"You telling him about the job in 99?" Neal asked.

"I was, it's going to be my first book." Mozzie said.

"So you're going legit?" Neal asked smirking.

"Why not, it worked for you." Mozzie said smiling.

"True." Neal said.

Just before ten Peter and Elizabeth walked into the bustling dinner full of people. They walked up to the hostess. "If you don't have a reservation then you can't get a table, Sorry, it's Saturday." The girl said.

"We're with Richard Castle, brunch for five." Peter said.

"Oh, Sorry about that. Come right this way. I'll get Parker for you. PARKER!" She yelled over the noise.

A short Asian woman covered in flower stuck her head out of the kitchen. "Yeah?" She called back.

"Rick's guests are here." The girl said.

"Oh, send them in, and just keep sending them until they all get here." Parker said waving them over with a big smile. "Hey I'm Parker. I'm the pastry chef, and head chef when Carrie is out of town." She said walking them through the kitchen and out to a small back patio with a table set for five with white linen and crystal stemware surrounded by flowers. "Rick's table. I'll be by with drinks in a bit, and when everyone gets here I'll start bringing out food until you tell me to stop." She said with a big smile.

"Thank you." Peter said helping Elle with her chair.

"Just holler if you want anything." She said walking through the door.

"Well this is just amazing." Elle said looking around.

"Did you see how busy they are?" Peter asked sitting across from her.

"Forget that, did you smell the food walking through that kitchen?" Elle asked.

"I did." Peter said looking at the gold flatware. "You think this is real gold?" He asked holing up a fork.

"Knowing Rick, probably." She said laughing.

Parker came out leading Sara and carrying a tray of mimosas. "Today we are serving mimosas made with Krug Clos d'Ambonnay. It's a red sparkling wine and it give the drink a cute pink tone." She said placing glasses on the table.

Elle picked up her glass and took a sip. "Wow that's good." She said.

"It should be at $3,500 a bottle." Parker said smiling. "It's Rick's favorite, he keeps the cellar stocked with it." Parker said walking back into the kitchen.

"I can get used to this." Sara said sipping her drink.

"I wonder were Neal and Rick are?" Peter said looking at his watch. It was fifteen after.

"Probably doing something bad." Sara said smiling and shaking her head.

"What did they do now?" Peter asked.

"Well this morning I woke up to find a pile of loot on my kitchen table and a note saying I could probably turn this in for the reward, and that he admits to sealing none of it." She said laughing.

"Neal." Peter said smirking.

"How much was the haul?" Elle asked.

"One hundred and forty-seven million. The reward was a little more then seven and a quarter million dollars. Included was the Raphael." She said smiling a sexy smile.

"And he broke into your house again?" Elle asked smiling.

"It was probably Rick's idea." Peter said.

"What was my idea?" Rick asked leading Neal and Mozzie through the door.

"You broke into my house last night." Sara said smiling at Neal, and he really liked what that smile promised.

"I did no such thing, but if did I would have come through your outdated back door. Using a floor jack on your old door jam would have given way with barely a sound. You should get that changed." Neal said looking innocent as he took the seat across from her.

"I'll look in to that." She said in a sexy voice.

"I'd be happy to swing by and take a look at it for you." Neal said with a smile to match hers.

"Okay you two, cut it out before I loose my apatite." Rick said putting Mozzie in his chair.

"You're just missing Jordan." Neal said.

"You have know idea. Sleeping alone sucks." Rick said. Parker came out with another chair and a waiter followed her out with a place setting. "Here Parker, let me get that." Rick said but she batted his hand away.

"You just relax. I took care of you're order personally. We have a little of everything and I made fresh croissants. They're still hot from the oven." She said sitting him in the chair with a smile.

"You did?" Rick asked with a big smile.

"I did. I'll bring out the basket in a minute." She said putting the place setting in front of him.

"You don't have to serve us Parker, it's bad enough Carrie is in Chicago with Jill so you have to run this place but Phil went too which means you got just as much sleep as I did." Rick said.

"Don't tell Phil but I sleep better when he away. He snores treble." She said patting him on the shoulder. "I'll be back with the food." She said walking through the door.

"Parker is married to Phil, my pilot. His sister and co-pilot is married to Carrie, the name sake of this place." Rick said sipping his drink. "I love this. They ad just a hint of pineapple to bring out the sour hints in the Krug." He said smiling.

"I just can't believe I'm eating here. I love the pastries they make." Mozzie said looking around with a big smile.

"I can't believe you're here either. Why are you here?" Peter asked.

"I was invited by Rick, if you must know Suit." Mozzie said.

"Moz, what did we talk about?" Rick asked.

"Right, Sorry Peter." Mozzie said.

"What just happened?" Peter asked.

"Well we had a nice little talk this morning and since Neal is not a criminal any more…" Rick said.

"He broke into my house last night." Sara said laughing.

"Like I was saying, since Neal is out then so is Mozzie. We talked it over and Mozzie is going to write crime novels." Rick said.

"Really?" Peter asked looking shocked.

"Yes really," Mozzie said looking affronted. "In going to write a series of books about a gentleman thief and his capers. I'm playing with the name Richard Coldwell: Gentleman Thief." Mozzie said.

"Sound's very familiar." Peter said.

Parker came out with a big tray full of platters. "First selection is omelets and fresh tarts. We also have Bacon and steak medians." She said placing plates down. "And Rick, the basket as I promised." She said putting a basket full of croissants. in front of him. "Don't eat them all. Try to share." She said.

"That was one time." Rick said with his hand in the basket.

"Right, I made extra because of you." She said taking the next tray. "We also have fresh melon and crapes filled with raspberry cream cheese. Fresh bagels and cold pressed cappuccinos. She said laying things on the table. "Last we have fresh corn beef hash and Eggs Benedict. Georgia will be in charge of keeping your drinks full." She said waving to a short blond girl who was looking at Neal. "When she's not staring at your guests, Georgia! Eye's on the glasses, not the guests." She said shaking her head as she walked by.

"Alright let's eat." Rick said.

"Hey Rick, I got a call from the US Marshals this morning. It seams Neal was hanging around a warehouse last night before heading out to a car storage place." Peter said. "I said he was with you, what were you two doing?" Peter asked.

"After we dropped Sara off, we were talking about cars and I took him to see my custom car guy, and Neal said he had an old Datsun 240Z sitting in storage that he wanted to fix up so we drove out to go get it and bring it back to Miguel's shop and Neal is hiring him to rebuild it for him." Rick said.

"Really?" Peter asked.

"Yeah and Mozzie is getting a Chevelle. What's your dream car Peter?" Rick asked.

"1974 Ferrari Daytona Spider, in black with the tan interior." Peter said with out a pause.

"Watch a lot of Miami Vice when you were a kid?" Rick asked smirking.

"Maybe." Peter said laughing.

"You know they make replicas just like they used in the show?" Rick said.

"I know, and I've thought about buying one, but what am I going to do with it? It's impractical in the winter, and I don't take a lot of time off to really use it." Peter said.

"Has anyone ever told you you're too practical?" Rick asked.

"Did Neal tell you that?" Peter asked.

"No one told me anything. It's my own observation. Help me out Elle, what car did you guys come here in?" Rick asked.

"His perfectly nice Ford." Elle said smiling.

"Neal, what does ever guy deserve?" Rick asked.

"His dream car." Neal said laughing.

"Mozzie?" Rick asked.

"Every guy deserves his dream car." Mozzie said trying to keep a straight face.

"So Peter, say it with me, what's every guy deserve?" Rick asked.

"His dream car?" Peter said smiling.

"Elle when is Peter's birthday?" Rick asked pulling out his phone.

"End of August. The 27th. Same day as mine just one month later." She said seeing where Rick was going with this.

"Perfect." Rick said putting the phone up to his ear. "Hey Miguel, it's me Rick, have you ever built a kit car?…. You have, good. Have you ever seen Miami Vice?…. Not the Testarossa, the Daytona,… yes it's built on a corvette frame…. No put a Ferrari V8 in it. I want it to drive and sound like the car in the show….. I want to feel like Don Johnson when I get in it…. You know me, price is of no concern. I need it by August 1st…. I know it's soon, but I'm your best customer…. That's what I like to hear. I'll swing by tomorrow with the payment…. Thank you Miguel." He said hanging up. "It will be ready by August first, just in time to take a road trip for Elle's birthday."

"Rick, I… I don't" Peter said trying to make words come out.

"Peter, shut up. If I can make Neal stop being a bag guy I can make you more comfortable with nice things. For a man that married so far up he has no idea how to have nice things. It boggles the mind." Rick said winking at Elle.

"Well that last part is true." Peter said looking at his wife.

"Besides, Neal is going to make what, $900,000 tonight? After Neal's cut of $150,000, and $85,000 for your car the rest is going in a safe in your office. No more begging your boss for money to use. That way if I'm not around you'll have it close by." Rick said.

"That's a good idea. I've been saying we should do something like that for while now." Neal said.

"You guys deal with people all the time. I don't know why you don't always have cash around. And since we're not busting Abamov, Neal can do this every two weeks if he feels okay with it. He can tell us who's playing in the game and take their money. Better that we have it then them." Rick said.

"I can do that easy. The guys I played two days ago were not very good. And Nick Holden has a reputation to hold up." Neal said.

"Neal, you should find a good safe, one that's hard for you to crack. We can replace your filing cabinet." Rick said.

"And were will my filing cabinet go?" Peter asked.

"Peter, you know that cabinet is empty aside from your snacks." Neal said.

"How would you know that?" Peter asked.

"Diana told me." Neal said.

"Yeah right. Now I know who's been eating my caramel corn." Peter said laughing.

A few minutes later Parker came out to check on everyone. "How is everything going?" She asked.

"Top notch like always Parker." Rick said holding his belly.

"Good to hear." She said smiling from behind Rick.

"I think we're coming to an end. Is my order ready?" Rick asked.

"I just have to box it all and put it in bags." She said.

"Great. I'll get them in the front." Rick said standing up. When Parker left Rick called Georgia over and handed her a bunch of hundred dollar bills folding up. "Give this to Parker when we leave this is for you." he handed her another hundred. "Don't let her push you around but don't give her a hard time." Rick said before walking the group to the front of the restaurant.

Parker handed him three shopping bags. "That's everything." She said.

"Thanks Parker. This was great. It's always great. I love coming here and I love seeing you guys doing well. One of the best investments I've ever made was this place." Rick said hugging her. Behind her back he tossed more money in the tip jar on the counter behind her.

"Thanks for stopping by, we love seeing you and we really love seeing Alexis. She's getting so grown up." Parker said.

"Maybe we'll do this again next week. Hopefully we can make it a regular thing. I like having these family sit downs." Rick said.

"You know us, we love it when you come over." Parker said walking them out the front door.

When he got outside he saw Sara standing off to the side and Neal and Mozzie waiting by his car. "Hey Mozzie." Rick called out and the little guy came over. "Can you make your way from here? I need to switch cars with Neal and I was hoping he would offer Sara a ride." Rick said nodding.

"Right." Mozzie said looking over his shoulder. "I see, I have things I need to be doing." He said smiling.

"Start outlining chapters tonight, the faster you get writing the faster we can get your book out into the world. I'm guaranteeing you a million dollar advance on your first draft. I know I can get that." Rick said patting him on the back.

"I'll get started as soon as I clean up a little bit. I don't want to get popped now." Mozzie said.

"Good idea." Rick said as Mozzie walked across the street. Rick walked up to Sara. "Did you call for a car?" Rick asked.

"I did, you were right, the car service is much better then a cab." She said seeing the car coming up the block.

Rick waved Neal over. "Sara the reason I asked is I've made a bit of a mistake. I Need to give Neal my car for the game tonight. He showed up in it on Thursday so they'll be looking for the black BMW tonight. But I need to get back to my apartment to host a study group. I was wondering if I could take the car you called and Neal, if you could, can you drive her home?" Rick said tossing him the key to his BMW.

"Sure Rick, her house is just in my range." Neal said offering her his arm. "Your car is here." He said.

"Why thank you, do you have anything to do right now?" She asked as they walked to his car.

"My afternoon is free." Neal said with a smile.

"There's this place that sells antiques and I think they are selling stolen Tiffany Lamps. I was wondering if you wanted to help me see if they are real?" She asked.

"I'd love to go antiquing." Neal said opening here door for her. Neal looked up when he walked around to the car and gave Rick a thumbs up with a big smile.

Tone pulled up and saw Rick there. "Hey Mr. C. I was expecting Mrs. Ellis." Tony said as Rick got in.

"She left with a friend of mine, in my car." Rick said smiling.

"That Ellis dame is hot. My God if I didn't love my wife." Tony muttered.

"I know the feeling. To the house if you will Tony I have guest coming over." Rick said relaxing back in his seat. "This is nice. I love my new car but being driven around is just nice." Rick said.

"I wouldn't know." Tony said laughing.

"Sorry Tony." Rick said smiling.

"Think nothing of it Mr. C. I love my job. I dress in a nice suit, I drive a nice car and I love this city." Tony said.

"I hear you. I've been all around the world and I keep coming back for more. I've been stabbed, mugged, and shot and I still walk the street of this city like nothing bad can happen to me." Rick said looking out the window at the buildings.

"Oh man, Mr. C. you got me feeling all sentimental. I need to listen to the song." Tony said turning on the rarely used stereo and hitting play on the CD. Sinatra's New Your kicked on and Rick smiled.

When they pulled up outside of his building they were both singing at the top of their lungs and Mike the doorman just shook his head with a smile when he opened the door. "Come on Mike this is the last chorus!" Rick said "It's up to you New York… NEW YOURK!" He sang with Tony and Mike. "Now that's the way you do it!" Rick said handing Tony and Mike a Ben Franklin. "God I feel good right now." Rick said walking on to the elevator.


	12. Chapter 12

He went upstairs and laid out all the breads and cakes Parker gave him and right as he was done Mike came up with a guy holding a big tray of Deli meats. "Right on time." Rick said handing the guy some money and taking the tray. "There are going to be eight people coming soon. You don't have to walk them all up Mike they're all Feds." Rick said.

"Got you Mr. C." Mike said leading the guy to the elevator.

Half hour later and they were all there. "Thank you all for coming. Olivia, teach us everything we need to know." Rick said.

"Okay." Olivia said standing up. "I brought copies of the practice test." She said pulling a stack of paper out of her big bag. "It's one hundred quests. I want you all to fill one out and when you are all done we can go over each question. The real test, as most of you know is just like this but three times the size and the question might be worded different. This test is designed to weed out the weak minded. If at any point you get stuck on a question stop and think about the answer and then reread the question. The answer should become clear. Do not worry if you don't get them all the question right. There has only ever been a few perfect scores on this test. The average great score is 95, I scored a 97 and a 96 the first two times and I never had to take the test again. Anything over 85 is very good. To pass all you need is a 76. There are Special agents bossing us around right now that never broke the mid 80's on this test." Olivia said passing out the packets of paper. "You have twenty minutes, this is a third of the questions so you get a third of the time. Your time starts now." She said looking at her iPhone.

Twenty minutes later she called stop. "Man this test is a lot harder then it looks." Rick said feeling a headache coming on.

"Did anyone not finish?" She asked.

"I was three questions away." Justin said.

"Okay everyone, never do that. It's better to just circle anything then to leave it blank. You have a shot at getting it right. If you leave anything unanswered you defiantly got it wrong." She said patting Justin on the head as she walked by. "Okay now we'll go over the test." She said grabbing the answer key.

An hour later and they all had headaches except for Olivia. "Okay everyone write your name on the test and hand them over to me." She said walking around and collecting them. When she had then all sitting by her bag she pulled out a new stack of paper. "Okay this is practice test two. It's the same as the test you all just took, but the questions are all shuffled up and out of order." She said handing them a fresh test. They all groaned. "Hey do you all want to pass or what?" She asked. "Hey Rick this place looks like it has thick walls, am I right?" She asked pulling out her laptop.

"Very thick. Why?" Rick asked feeling very worried.

"Good." She said pulling a Bose speaker box out of her bag and plugging it into her computer. "You time starts now." She said pulling up a play list, she hit play and put shooting ear muffs on. Loud Dub step came blaring out of the speaker so loud it shook the table.

"Really?" Will asked.

"Yes Really. Now get to work. You have eighteen minutes." She said with a big evil grin on her face. Twenty jaw rattling minute alter she cut the music and called time. "How many of you had to just randomly circle things at the end?" She asked. Justin, Carmen, and Fay raised their hands. "Right. Lets see how we did this time." She said.

An hour later and they all did poorly.

"Okay write your name on them and pass them up." She said collecting them. She pulled out another stack and they all boo'ed. "We are going to keep doing this until I say so. Now shut up and pass them down." She said. "Rick do you have a TV in this room?" She asked looking at the big cabinet.

"Yeah, here." He said opening the big doors to show off his big ass TV.

"You couldn't have found anything bigger?" Will asked laughing.

"Shut up." Rick said making a rude hand gesture. "What do you need?" He asked.

"DVD." She said holding up a burned DVD.

"It's here and this remote works it all." Rick said handing it to her and going back to his place at the table.

"Okay, by now you know the drill. Twenty minutes starts now." She said hitting play. A super hot blond girl say naked on a bed playing with herself and moaning a hot red head walked in and things really started getting hot. The sounds they were making kept getting everyone's attention. Five minutes in and a naked guy walked into the scene and that's when things got extremely graphic. The scene ended at the twenty minute make with all of the "actor" covered in sweat and panting. Most of the test group was in a similar boat. "Okay, that was fun." Olivia said laughing. "Who was scrambling at the end?" She asked and they all raised their hands. "Good, lets see how bad we did this time." She said all excitedly.

Needless to say they all failed. Badly.

"Okay, you know the drill, name and pass." She said pulling out another stack of tests.

"Please no more." Justin said looking jumpy.

"Come on guys I swear this is it." She said handing out tests. "Okay you have twenty minutes, Justin, Carmen and Fay I want you to start from the back and work forwards." She said smiling softly at them. "Start." She said for the next twenty minutes the room was dead silent except for the sound of pencils on paper. A minute before the timer went off Justin raised his head and saw everyone was done. "Very good. Now lets see what we have to work with." She said calmly.

As they went over the test this time they saw a huge leap in scores. Rick, who did the best, scored an 80, 75, and 54 on the first three tests, and a 95 on the last test. Justin, who was the worst of the bunch scored 78, 65, and 44 on the first three tests scored a 84, his best score ever.

"You all asked me how I tested out of theory? This is how I did it. It's called the torture method. It works for some people and it break others. I figured you all made it this far. Lets go for broke. I did that to myself everyday for three months until I could write one of these tests. An hour and a half a day. Everyday! One normal test, one with loud noise, one with a very good distraction, and one normal one. Every day my scores got better and my time kept getting faster. I took my second real test in twenty-five minutes. I scored a 96. It's the fastest high score ever. I also gave myself a two month long migraine and my need for sex jumped way up. I'm not saying you have to go to the extremes I did, but three times a week will see your scores make a huge jump. Now everyone relax for a while. You all earned it." She said smiling at them.

"I think I speak for the group when I say go screw yourself and thank you very much." Rick said standing up next to her. "Come on guys give her a hand, she just saved your asses." Rick said hugging her and the group clapped.

Will helped him set up the big poker table and two women showed up dressed in black hot pants, white tops and bow ties. "Hey ladies, we can start playing now and more people will be joining us. Guy meet Gina and Carla. They serve drinks and deal the cards." Rick said sitting at the table. The rest of the group sat down too and they all bought in for fifty dollars. Ten minutes latter the bell rang, and Carla answered the door to let The captain, Ryan and Esposito in. "Feds meet Captain Roy Montgomery, and detectives Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan. Cops met Jr. agents Will Warner, Olivia Moss, Melissa Hill, Fay Li, Justin Porter, Carmen Santiago, Mike Forester, and Dash.

"Damn Castle, when you said you were inviting some Feds you didn't say you were inviting all of them." Esposito said.

"Yeah, we're way out numbered here." Ryan said.

"Relax guys we're not Feds and cops tonight. Were all just LEOs. Besides you have the advantage, Carmen, Justin, and Melissa have never played before so pretty soon they'll be sitting in for just the conversation. Carmen, only bet big when you have a good hand. You can't bluff at all, you're too innocent to lie convincingly." Rick said smiling.

"I can tell a lie." She said pouting.

"I doubt it." Mike said.

"Too cute to pull it off." Olivia said.

"I can too." Carmen said.

"One, True, Three time." Mike said.

"One, True, Three?" Rick asked looking confused.

"You tell three facts about yourself. Two of them are lies and one is the truth. Then we try to guess the true fact. I heard it on a podcast before." Mike said.

"You go first." Rick said.

"Fine, One, I once had a threesome in collage with two hot lesbian friends. Two, I ate a whole try of pot brownies with out knowing they were pot brownies. I'm a lawyer in the state of Louisiana." Mike said. "Now you have to guess."

"Threesome." Will said.

"No, I'm going for the pot brownies." Justin said.

"I know the answer to this, you're a certified lawyer." Rick said smirking.

"I'm going with Rick on this one." Carmen said.

"Brownies." Dash said.

"Brownies." Melissa said nodding.

"Threesome." Olivia said smiling.

"I also know this so I'm going lawyer." Fay said.

"Are the new guys going to chime in?" Mike asked.

"Maybe next round." Esposito said.

"Okay. I'm a lawyer." Mike said pulling out his bar card. "In the state of Louisiana all you have to do is pass the bar to get certified. I took the test on a dare and just barely passed." Mike said "But you get the point. So who's next?" Mike asked looking around.

After one round the group found out that, Olivia did have a threesome, Will used to be in a gang, Dash used to be a hacker, Melissa was a beauty queen, Justin made out with his cousin, Fay had a glandular disorder that kept her skinny, and Carmen really couldn't lie with a straight face.

"Okay Rick you're up to bat." Mike said.

"One, I like to wear women's underwear. Two, I've boosted a car once. Three, the plot of my first book is a revenge fantasy." Rick said playing his hand.

"Underwear." Will said smirking.

"He's wearing some right now. knickers." Dash said.

"You a little light in the loafers Rick? Underwear." Mike said.

"Underwear." Olivia said winking at him.

"Underwear." Justin said.

"I'm seeing a trend. Underwear." Fay said.

"I think he stole a car." Carmen said.

"So do I, he seams like the type to do it for kicks." Melissa said.

"Castle boosted a car." Esposito said.

"I don't think so, I've read that book and the death of the cheating actress seamed very real." Ryan said.

"Rick likes Underwear." Roy said laughing.

Rick looked around the table and smiled. "My wife left me with our one year old daughter. It was winter. I had a really bad cold. My mother came to stay with us and I had a fever dream so real it scared me. I dreamed I snuck into her apartment and stabbed her to death. I then left the knife in a trash can of her costar's house. When I woke up I was covered in sweat and I knew I had a very dangerous mind. I opened my lap top and wrote the first draft of Storm Rising that night." Rick said shaking his head.

"Wow, just, wow." Olivia said.

"I know everyone is capable of murder. Presented with the right set of circumstances even a mild mannered school teacher can kill." Rick said as everyone looked at him in a new light. "There are two kinds of people that sit around thinking about how to kill people. Mystery writers and psychopaths, I chose the path that pays better." Rick said smiling.

"That's scary as shit." Will said.

"That's my brain, now are you playing this hand or what?" Rick asked.

"I'm not shocked in the least. The man thinks like a killer, it's how we catch them so fast." Esposito said.

"Yeah, Castle has been the deciding factor in a lot of cases." Ryan said.

"Remember when you guys caught that…" Roy started to say but Rick stopped him.

"I need you to stop right there. I'm using our old cases to teach these guys how to work a crime scene." Rick said.

"Really? Which ones have you done so far?" Esposito asked.

"I had them work the Strangers on a boat case." Rick said.

"I remember that case, we ended up splitting the pool money even though we won the bet." Ryan said.

"You guys didn't win we did." Rick said.

"What's this about?" Will asked.

"We worked the two murders just like I had you guys do, except we had a

running bet about who could solve their case first. Just like I did with you all. In the end it took a prisoner's dilemma to break Marx. Marx was their guy but my partner and I broke him. It's still debated as to who technically won that bet." Rick said smiling.

"No it's not, we won and Beckett is a sore loser." Esposito said.

"Hey, no arguing that same old case. I'm tired of it." Roy said.

"Yes boss." Ryan, Esposito, and Rick all said.

This broke the table up again. "So are you guys done with your easy double murder?" Rick asked.

"We thought we were. But the our best suspect alibi'ed out." Esposito said.

"Well, why the hell didn't you open with that? We've been playing cards for an hour and you just tell me about your case now?" Rick asked. "Share with the class Esposito. What's the particulars of the case?" Rick asked.

"Boss, do you think it's alright to share case information with the Feds?" Esposito asked and Ryan laughed.

"Why the hell not, you might catch the guy." Roy said.

"Okay, I have the file with me." Esposito said getting the file from his coat.

"If we're really going to do this lets do it. Pause the game. I'll go get the white board." Rick said going to a big closet next to his office and pulling out a white board with flip out legs. "Alright. Esposito call the play and Ryan set up the board." Rick said standing back form the board with the rest of the group.

"Why does he get to call the play?" Ryan asked taking the marker.

"Because he writes like crap, and you write like Beckett. Now go." Rick said looking at the board.

"Right. We were called to the house of ADA Richard Connelly. His wife and her sister went missing Monday night. This wasn't the first time Mrs. Connelly went missing for a few days. It seams Mrs. Connelly was going through a mid life crises of sorts and would go out partying with her younger sister. So when she took the Mercedes SLS out on Monday night and didn't come home Tuesday no one was concerned. The next day Mrs. Connelly and her sister were found dead in the park Wednesday by some runners. They both had three shots to the back of the head with a .22. Everything was missing. Hand bags, jewelry, cell phones, the car, and Mrs. Connelly's ring finger. The finger, with her wedding ring was left on Mr. Connelly's doorstep along with a note saying back off the O'Reilly Family. Richard Connelly is building a case against the O'Reilly crime family as we speak, but Beckett thought that was out on the doorstep to throw us off the scent of the real killer. Beckett went hard after Richard Connelly, but he was at his office that night with six other ADAs and a bunch of paralegals. Were looking at the O'Railly family but we're just spinning our wheels now." Esposito said as Ryan wrote out the time line of events and stuck the crime scene photos to the board. "So what do you think Castle?" He asked.

"Well, let me look, and I'll tell you." Rick said walking up to the board. He looked over the photos. "Lanie found small traces of Ketamine in their systems?" Rick asked reading the M.E. report.

"She also found a huge amount of alcohol in their systems. They were out partying." Esposito said.

"Right." Rick said, "And this time of death is accurate? Lanie can't pin it down better then somewhere between 11pm and 2am?" Rick asked.

"No she can't. It was unseasonably cold that night and they were wearing next to nothing so she can't get an exact time from the bodies." Ryan said.

"It's says the Connelly kids were at home with the nanny on the night of the murder?" Rick asked.

"All night, Mrs. Connelly left the house at 9pm. The Nanny stayed the night like she did most nights." Esposito said with a smile.

"And the nanny, what do we know about her?" Rick asked holding up her picture.

"Natalie Fairbanks. 24 years old. Nursing student at NYU, she's on break for the summer and working full time for the Connelly's." Ryan said.

"Which one of you interviewed her?" Rick asked.

"I did." Ryan said.

"Good, that means her watched her face and not her chest." Rick said.

"Hey!" Esposito said.

"I didn't even say your name which means you admit it." Rick said smirking. "Now Ryan, when she was talking to you how did she refer to Mrs. Connelly? Did she call her Mrs. Connelly? Margret? How did she say it?" Rick asked.

"She said Mrs. Connelly. No infection, no nothing. Just Mrs. Connelly." Ryan said sharing a look with Esposito.

"Right." Rick said pulling the close up of the severed finger off the board and looking at it.

"Is he always like this?" Olivia asked Roy standing next to her.

"Yes, he used to be louder, but he's always been like this." Roy said enjoying watching Rick work.

"Does she have a car?" Rick asked.

"Who?" Ryan asked.

"Natalie." Rick asked.

"It should be there." Ryan said leafing through papers. "Here it is, she drives a 2005 Scion XB." Ryan said.

"Stomach contents were just vodka? Nothing else? No juice? No soda?" Rick asked.

"Nothing, why?" Esposito asked.

"Just thinking out loud." Rick said.

"No you're not, you have something. Spit it out!" Esposito said.

"I will, I want them to take a stab at it first. I have to make a phone call." Rick said stepping away. "Look it over. Study it, and talk it out. I'll be back." Rick said walking into his office.

Olivia was all over the board as soon as he stepped away. She looked at the M.E. report and thought about what he said. "Rick thinks it the nanny." She said walking away from the board.

"You think she did it?" Carmen asked.

"If he says she did it then she did." Mike said.

"But why? Why would she do it?" Carmen asked.

"We have a case of Nightingale Nanny." Rick said coming out of his office. "Natalie likes taking care of people. She like protecting then. It's why she's going to nursing school, and working as a nanny. She likes to form attachments to people and when something is threatening her charges she eliminates the problem." Rick said. "It started out slow. She's the only one taking care of the kids. She loves them very much. They in turn, love her back. Then something happens to make her charges not so happy. Mommy is forgetting all about her kids and it makes them sad. Nanny doesn't like it when the kids are sad. She tells Daddy but he's too busy to care. So she takes matters into her own hands. She drugs everyone at dinner. Not a lot, just enough to put them out for a bit. She puts the kids to bed and dresses Mommy and her sister in the slut clothes they like to wear when they make the kids sad. She carried them out to the garage and using a feeding tube she poured a fifth of vodka into their stomachs and tossed them in her little truck. It was light out when she did this. She drove then to the park and using an old pistol she got form someone she put three in the back of their skulls. Then she dislocated Mommies finger and using a scalpel she cut it off nice and clean. She dumps the bodies and goes back to the house. Takes the SLS, drives it to a bad neighborhood and leaves it open with the keys in the ignition. She hops a cab and takes it to a house a few blocks away and she walks back to the house in time to great Daddy at the front door at 10pm when he gets home." Rick said holding everyone's attention.

No one said anything for a few seconds after he was finished and then Ryan started clapping. "I've missed the stories so much this past month. Man you know how to solve a murder. It's so entertaining." He said smiling wide.

"Damn bro, you almost made my brain explode with that one. But how are we gonna prove it?" Esposito asked.

"I'll call Judge Markway, and see if I can get you a search warrant for her apartment and car. You'll find the gun in the same place she keeps things safe, so jewelry box, or a small lock box safe, and you'll find tape adhesive where she taped the plastic down in her mini-truck. If you look really hard you might even find a spec of blood or two." Rick said. His phone rang, "Perfect timing. Miguel? … I can be there in a half hour…. I'm sure we can work it out…. No I don't think he'll do time…. If he works with the D.A. then he can sell his testimony for a free pass, but he will have to testify….. I'll hire a lawyer for him in that case… good, I'll be there." Rick hung up. "I got a guy that used to deal in stolen cars. I asked him to call around to all his contacts and see if anyone found a SLS in the last week. He said a street kid saw a blond haired white lady get out of the car. Leave door up and the car running and walk away. The kid took the car drove it around a bit and sold it to a shop of disrepute. He says he can ID the lady that left the car. He's waiting at my friends shop. I can take Ryan their to get his statement. Esposito meet Beckett at the nanny's house and sit on her. I'll swing buy Markway's house and drop off Ryan and you're warrant." Rick said grabbing his Ferrari key off the hook by the door. "The rest of you stay, eat, drink, and play cards. I should be back in an hour." Rick said as he left behind Ryan and Esposito.

Will looked around at the group. "That happened fast." He said laughing.

"Castle is used to working a Beckett's pace. You'll get used to it." Roy said taking his seat at the table.

Rick and Ryan took the elevator to the underground garage and Rick walked over to his red Ferrari 458 convertible. "We get to ride in this?" Ryan asked.

"It's my other car. Neal has my BMW. You better call in to dispatch and tell them the two guys in a red 458 are cops." Rick said hitting the start button and revving the sweetest sounding engine in the world.

"Why?" Ryan asked as Rick coasted the car out of the garage.

"Because I aim to misbehave." Rick said burning out up the street headed south towards the warehouse.

"Right!" Ryan said with the biggest smile on his face.

Esposito called Beckett as he got in his car. "Hey Beckett, we were just at Castles place. We started talking about the case and he cracked it. The Nanny did it." He said.

"WHAT!?" She yelled from her desk in the empty bull pen.

"He's got a street kid that saw the Nanny drive the SLS into a crap neighborhood and leave open with the key in it. He even laid out a timeline that looks like it could fit. He's calling in a favor with judge Markway and getting us a search warrant for the Nanny's house. I'm headed there now." He said.

"Wait, back up, he's doing all this without my approval? How does he even know he's got grounds for a warrant? Where's the evidence? Just because he says so we have to run and do as he tells us to? He's not even a cop Espo." She said looking at the board in front of her desk.

"No, he's a Fed. If you don't want the collar he can have it. It's no skin off my teeth. And the next time you call him out like that think about this, we were batting 70 percent before he came to work with us. With him we were closing almost 98 percent. Since he's been gone the only good leads have been one's he's given us. He might not be a cop but he's doing a hell of a lot better then you are right now." He said ending the call and tossing his phone on the seat in frustration. "If she doesn't get her head out of her ass we're going to make a very big mistake some day soon." He said as he drove to the address in the file. When he got there he parked at the end of the block. He saw the lights on in the house and her car in the driveway. He was there for about ten minutes before Beckett pulled up behind him. She got out of her car and sat in the passenger seat next to him. "Good of you to show up." He said not looking at her.

"I looked over the timeline and it doesn't add up. She said she put the kids to bed at nine and the ADA got home at ten. That leaves just one hour to track the sisters down. Shoot them. Dump the bodies. Ditch the car, and be back in time to great him at the door." She said with a triumphant smirk.

"Did you think about the possibility that she drugged the kids and the sisters and did everything from the house?" Esposito asked coldly.

Kate was about to laugh it off but then she thought about it and the smirk fell off her face. "oh." She said looking Ill. "Nightingale Nanny." She said softly looking shocked.

"If it matter at all to you he used the same words. It took him ten minutes and he was using copies of the case file in his living room. Either you get you head out of your ass and start closing cases like we used to or I'll put in for a transfer so I don't have to watch you become a train wreck." He said getting out of the car and walking up the block to look at the house. When he got back in his car he saw the tears in her eyes. "I know I was hard on you but I'm pissed off." He said opening the glove box and handing her some fast food napkins.

"No, I needed to hear it. I don't know if it's him leaving or the fact that I've come to the blinding realization that I've made the biggest mistake in my life. Whatever it is, I think I've lost my edge. The scary thing is I don't know how to get it back." She said softly.

"Well you better find it fast, because we keep getting cases and I don't know how often we can keep taking them to Castle. The man is some kind of FBI whisperer if my friend Garza is to be believed. Apparently Castle has been there for less then a week and his record is better then some full agents. Besides the convenience store robbery he solved a Jewelry store heist, helped train five agents to shoot better and he got very good scores on some kind of tests they have to take." Esposito said.

"I wish I could go back in time and change things. Say the right things to make him stay. But I can't and I don't know if can do the job without him." She said.

"You used to, why not now?" He asked.

"Do you even remember what it was like back then? The pain of putting cases in the cold case bin? You were right, 70 percent. That means we failed to solve three out of every ten cases we got. It's the fear of those three out of ten that is haunting me." She said.

"Look, you can't catch them all but you have to try harder. You're lead detective. You're smarter then me and Ryan. You don't have to get them all but you have to at least get most of them. For the last six weeks your heart hasn't been in it, and that's a full three weeks before he left. I think it's time to face facts, robbery boy is messing with your Mojo. He has been for a while. He seams like a nice guy and all, but you need to get back on the ball. Now he's coming here in a little bit do you think you can handle seeing him?" Esposito asked.

"I think so. Is he staying for the bust?" She asked flipping the sun visor mirror out to look at her face.

"I don't know. He might." He said.

"You guys were at his house tonight?" She asked.

"He's hosting a weekly poker game for Cops and Feds." He said.

"He didn't invite me?" She asked in a tone he couldn't read.

"I told him not to. After you went all John McEnroe on his chair when he left us that lead I figured the two of you in the same room might not be a good idea." He said smiling.

"Yeah, I guess not." She said blushing before her eyes got cold. "Was she there?" She asked with an edge to her voice.

"No, they went to Chicago for the weekend to visit Mr. R." He said. His phone rang. "Hey, you guys coming?…. Good idea. Were sitting in my car out front." He said hanging up. "He parked a block away and they're walking here. Castle doesn't want to worn her by driving his Ferrari up the block." Esposito said smiling.

"He's driving his red 458 around? He's still all flash." She said.

"No he got a black BMW M5 for work but he let another agent barrow it for a bust, so he was stuck with his Ferrari." He said. "Castle is not treating this whole Fed thing as a joke. The man is dead serious." Esposito said as the two men walked up the block. "Here they are." He said getting out of the car. "Hey guys, how did it go?" He asked.

"Good, the kid is willing to testify. He described the nanny perfectly and when we showed him her photo he said it was her." Ryan said.

"And the good judge granted you a full search warrant." Rick said handing over the warrant. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get out of here." He said.

"Why? Don't you want to see if you're right?" Esposito asked.

"No, I know I'm right. I don't want to be here when she gets here." Rick said before spotting her car. "She's here?" He asked.

"I'm here Castle." She said getting out of the car.

"Beckett." He said stiffly.

"So you cracked the case and you're not sticking around to gloat? What are you growing up finally?" She asked smiling.

"No, it's just not may case, it's yours. It's always yours." He said sarcastically before turning to Ryan and Esposito. "See you two next week?" he asked.

"Sure we'll be there." Esposito said.

Rick turned back to her "Beckett." He said stiffly before walking away.

"I, that went better and worse then I thought It would." She said feeling empty inside.

"Let's do this." Esposito said.

Rick got back and saw only Roy, Will, Dash, and Olivia sitting around the table. "How did it go?" Roy asked.

"I don't know. I handed the warrant off and left." Rick said sitting at the table.

"You left?" Roy asked shocked.

"It's not my case, it's hers, and you know as well as I do she doesn't want me there." Rick said getting delth in to the next hand.

"You don't know that." Roy said.

"She was there Roy. She had a smart attitude as soon as she saw me. I'm not saying she should be happy that I solved her case for her but she should be at least, I don't know." Rick said thinking about it. "Without my help that case would have gone unsolved. If I was an asshole I could have held my tongue and waited until it fell into cold cases and grabbed it from there. I could have solved it and made a good show of it. New Fed solves ADA murder case. I could have got good press off that case. Instead I handed her enough evidence to convict and a warrant obtained after ten o'clock on a Saturday and she had the nerve to give me anything but a big ass thank you? Boy I'm stupid." Rick said.

"Rick, you know that's not you. You would never let that case go unsolved long enough for you to get it. It's not your style." Roy said shaking his head.

"No, my style is apparently making that ungrateful cold bitch's reputation good." He said.

"Wow this really got to you didn't it?" Olivia asked.

"No. Yes. I don't know. I'm pissed off. Just let it be. The bet is to you." He said "Carla, mix me a good stiff Manhattan and keep um coming. I'm taking the day off tomorrow. No work, just sleeping in and dinner at the in-laws house." He said, and then his phone rang. "GOD DAMN IT!" He said pulling his phone out. "Hello?" He asked in a calm voice but the vain in his fore head told a different story. "Your kidding, Peter's been looking for this guy for a while… are you sure?…. Right…. Stay on the trail. I'll call you if I need anything else." Rick said hanging up the phone. "Guys, how much have you had to drink?" Rick asked.

"Three of you expensive beers." Will said.

"I had a Cosmo." Olivia said.

"I'm English Rick. Does it matter? Why what's up?" Dash asked.

"I just got the location of a wanted fugitive. Peter's team have been running surveillance all day and they are not going to be fresh enough to go twelve more hours. The question is, can you guys?" Rick asked smirking.

"I'm ready to go." Dash said finishing his drink.

"So am I, but I'm done for tomorrow." Olivia said.

"Lets do this. Where are we headed?" Will asked.

"It seams Niagara falls is lovely this time of year, it attracts married couples and wanted ex-Feds alike. Let me call Peter and tell him. He's going to love this." Rick said calling Peter.

Peter was sitting in a power truck down the street for the New York room with Diana and Jones when Rick called. "Hey, how's the poker night going?" He asked.

"Poorly, I'm down twenty bucks, I solved a double homicide and I Know where Fowler is though, so..." Rick said.

"What!?" Peter asked.

"You heard me. My guy just called he said the number she dialed belonged to a burner phone bought by Fowler. He tracked his movements to cabin out by Niagara Falls. My guy says he's waiting on fake papers so he can cross in to Canada. I figure, it's a seven hour drive to the Falls. We'll meet you at the office, and we'll take a ride up there. I know your Jr. agents are dead from running service so I'll bring my team mates from profiling to cover the gap. Between us four, you, Diana, and Jones I think we can handle Fowler and anyone he might have with him." Rick said.

"Sounds like a plan. We should be wrapping up here in an hour. We'll come to your house and leave from there." Peter said.

"Good. I don't have to get up for a while then. See you in a bit." Rick said. "Were on for the take down. Do you guys have your guns and vests?" Rick asked.

"I need to get mine back at the office." Dash said.

"Don't you keep it in your car?" Will asked.

"I don't have a car." Dash said.

"Neither do I. we'll run to the office and get our gear. We'll be back in a half hour." She said.

"Here, take my car. It's in the garage. It's the red Ferrari." Rick said tossing her the key. "You scratch my car, I scratch your ass, and not in the way you want." Rick said. Rick turned around in his seat. "Carla, on second thought I'll have a good strong cup of coffee, make a big pot, were going to need it." Rick said.

"So I take it poker night is over?" Roy asked.

"It is, Ryan and Esposito forgot to cash out. Gina. If you would cash us out?" Rick asked.

"Well it was fun for the first time we ever did this." Roy said. "I think the Cops and Feds game is going to be the highlight of my week if tonight was any indication." He said standing up from the table.

"Did you drive Roy?" Rick asked stand up too.

"No, I planed on having fun tonight so I took a cab." Roy said pulling on his jacket.

"I'll call a car for you." Rick said.

Across town in the New York Room Neal looked across the table at Donovan. "Do you have it?" He asked smirking.

"I don't know, do I?" Donovan asked smirking back at him but Neal caught the two little blinks in the corner of his eye.

"All in." Neal said pushing his stack into the center.

Donovan flipped over and he was sitting on three queens. Neal smiled and showed his straight. "I guess I had it." Neal said laughing a relived laugh.

Abomov came by and shook Neal's hand. "Good game Mr. Holden. Can we expect you next week?" He asked.

"Sure, I don't see why not." Neal said putting on his jacket.

"Good. Your money will brought out to you." He said before turning to Donovan. "AS for you, you owe me $200,000. You have twenty four hours to bring me my money or you don't get to see Monday." He said walking away.

Out in the truck Peter was telling Jones and Diana about the Fowler when Diana's undercover phone rang. "Hello?" She answered faking sleep "…. You did? that's great…. I'm sure tomorrow at ten wont be a problem. We'll se you then." She said hanging up. "Big problem boss. Donovan wants the money tomorrow at ten. How are we going to do this?" Diana asked.

"We're not going to, Rick and his guys are going to have to handle Fowler. We need to be here for the bust." Peter said looking haggard.

"That's crazy Peter, you can't send four Jr. agents after Fowler, the man is dangerous." Jones said.

"So is Rick. Diana come with me, Neal should be coming out any second now." Peter said getting out of the back of the truck and getting into his car with Diana. They drove down the street three blocks to a 24 hour cafe and got out.

Neal came in carrying a suitcase. He sat at the table and saw the looks on their faces. "I won, what's wrong?" Neal asked.

"Donovan called, he wants to do the money exchange tomorrow at ten." Diana said.

"Great." Neal said setting the case on the table.

"Not great. Rick just called me too. His guy tracked the call to a burner and tracked the burner back to Fowler. It seams Fowler is hiding in a cabin in Niagara Falls. He's waiting on fake papers to get into Canada. We were supposed to go out there with Rick and his team to get Fowler, but we can't if we're at Donovan's office." Peter said.

"Well one of us has to go with them." Neal said. "None of Rick's people have ever seen Fowler. They've only seen photos. If he's changed his appearance he might slip them." Neal said.

"Then go with them, but Neal. This is a collar, not a kill. You can't let vengeance cloud you judgment. You've been doing really good this week. Killing Fowler would really put a dampener on that." Peter said.

"How am I going to kill him?" Neal asked.

"With the pearl handled .38 you keep hidden in your room." Peter said.

"You know about that?" Neal asked.

"Of course I do. Now can I trust you?" Peter asked.

"You can. I'll work with Rick and let him get Fowler in a room. I want to see why he did it." Neal said coldly.

"Okay. Leave two hundred thousand here and take the case to Rick along with his car. He's going to need it." Peter said.

Rick looked at his phone. It was Peter. "What's going on?…. Your kidding… no we can handle it…. I agree with him…I'll make sure to watch him but I trust the guy…. Yes we'll be back by one hopefully… see you then." Rick said hanging up. "Well we're doing this on our own. I mean unless we call the Pool guys." Rick said to the group.

"I say lets call them. They can drive and we can sleep." Will said.

"Good point. Do you have Melissa's number?" Rick asked.

"What makes you think I have her number?" Will asked.

"Because your hooking up with her. And hey it's not like I can say anything. But you might want to fill out the paper work if it gets serious. So call your girlfriend and tell her to round up the brat pack I want to get on the road as fast as we can. It's almost eleven now. By the time we get on the road it will be midnight." Rick said.

"I'll call her." Will said.

"Tell them to all bring a car if they have one. We're going to need a few." Rick said making sandwiches out of the rest of the meat and bread. "Road snacks." Rick said when Will looked at him.

"Good idea. Grab me some orange sodas from the fridge please." Will said.

Olivia and Dash knocked on the door. Will let them in. "We're calling the pool agents, we're on our own for this one. They will drive us out there so we can sleep. We'll take Fowler when we get there and drive back." Rick said packing everything into four bags.

An hour later found Rick in the passenger seat of his own car being driven by Neal. Will was sleeping in the passenger seat of his Dodge Charger with Melissa driving. Dash was sleeping off all the booze he drank in Justin's Toyota Corolla. And the last car in the pack was Mike's Evo with Olivia sprawled out in the back seat. Rick slowly let his eye droop and then he got back up. "Relax Rick. We got a long way to go." Neal said sipping his travel mug full of coffee.

"I've never been a fan of sleeping in cars. I know some people love it, but it's not really for me. At some point I'll pas out and then it won't matter but until then I'm staying up." Rick said yawning.

"Hey don't do that. You start yawning, then I start and I end up driving us off the road." Neal said smirking.

"Alright no yawning. How about we talk, so did you have fun with Sara today after you two left?" Rick asked.

"I did. We spent the day looking at lamps in a row of antique stores. It was nice." Neal said smiling.

"That sounds very domesticated." Rick said laughing.

"and then Sara got a call about a stolen dagger being on display at a little shop in the Bronx so we had to cut the trip short. We called a car and it picked her up on a corner at the edge of my leash." Neal said sadly.

"Hey, you've been a good guy for a few days. In a few months of good behavior I'll give you credit for solving a murder case and see if we can't get that leash to extend to all of New York. But you have to be patient. Your boundary is not going to expand over night just like your criminal past wasn't created in one day. How did Sara take the whole needing to stop at the edge?" Rick asked.

"Good. Better then I did actually. She smiled sadly and kissed me before she got into the car." Neal said smiling.

"Kissed you? My boy has a girlfriend!" Rick said like a little kid.

"Shut up! Why do I even tell you anything?" Neal said laughing.

"Because getting picked on by your friends is normal and you crave normal more then anything." Rick said patting him on the shoulder. "So do you like her?" Rick asked.

"You know I do. She's something special." Neal said.

"Good. A good woman will keep you on track and make you check your attitude. Or so I'm told Jordan is the first good woman I've ever been with." Rick said drifting off.

"Rick, go to sleep. We need you in the morning." Neal said.

"Okay. Use the money from the case to buy gas and snacks." Rick said passing out.

Neal looked over at him slumped down in the seat. The man changed his life in less then a week. And now he was going to help him catch Kate's killer. "I owe you Rick." Neal said. Then Rick started to snore. "Okay, I owe you a little bit less." Neal said turning one the Satellite radio to the R&B station and let Rick's car just eat the road.


	13. Chapter 13

"Rick, Rick get up. Were getting close." Neal said shaking his shoulder.

"What?" Rick asked as he come to.

"Were getting close. I think we should pull over and look at a map or something. We just entered the city of Niagara." Neal said.

"Yeah. Okay, um pull into a big gas station. We should fill up again. I want to make as few pit stops as we can once we have this guy." Rick said looking at his watch. "It's 6:15, why the hell is it still this dark out?" Rick asked looking out the window.

"It's really overcast and gray. It looks like it could start pouring any second." Neal signaling and turning in to the full service Shell station. "Park over there away from everyone. We don't want to freak people out when pull vests out of the trunks." Rick said "How are you holding up?" Rick asked as the other cars pulled in around them.

"Good, I took a nap yesterday after noon to be sharp for the game last night." Neal said as they got out.

"Good. Okay everyone huddle up." Rick said calling them over. "Google maps puts the cabin site about ten miles from here. The area is very woody and secluded. I looked up the web site for cabin rental, and saw it's a two story deal. A big main room with a kitchen and living room on the ground floor, and two bedrooms up stairs. Were are going to park up the road from the cabin and approach on foot. Will and I will cut up the middle with Neal. He'll pick the lock on the door as you guys fan out to surround the cabin. Stay behind the tree line we do not want to tip this guy off. He knows we're are after him and he will shoot first. Once we're in I want Olivia to cover the door. If he's not down stairs then we will go up stairs and take a bedroom each. We want this guy alive. He has a lot of questions to answer for. If he starts shooting get behind cover and wait for me or Will to shoot at him. If he get by us, or if we get hit then you can shoot at him to stop him form getting away. Until then don't fire." Rick said opening his trunk. He pulled out a vest with FBI on it and strapped it on with a smile. He pulled out his writer vest and handed it to Neal. "Put this on." He said.

"I never worn one." Neal said opening the top strap.

"Here." Rick said pulling open the side and slinging it over his head. "Tighten the sides until it's snug. Here put this on too." He said handing him his Berretta Inox in the shoulder rig.

"I don't like guns." Neal said.

"But you do know how to shoot right?" Rick asked.

"I do, but I don't think I need the temptation right now." Neal said looking at the gun.

"Well I want back up so sling it on. If I get hit then shot Fowler to your hearts content. Until then keep it in the leather." Rick said handing it to him. "Will I want you riding up here with me and Neal. The rest of you mount up and follow me. We'll fill up and roll out." Rick said.

Ten minutes later and the group was walking up the dirt road surrounded by trees. Rick, Will, and Neal were in the lead. They came to the end of the tree line and Rick held up his hand. "It looks like we have about a twenty foot clearing surrounding the house. This is where we part ways for a bit. You guy spread out along the trees." He said and the groups split up, and moved into the trees. "Okay, you two ready? Once we head out of these trees this is going to happen fast. Neal you ready?" Rick asked.

"Yeah, it looks like a stander door lock from here." Neal said holding up two lock picks.

"Okay, lets do this." Rick said pulling his gun out. They ran for the front door, and Rick and Will stacked up on either side of the door. Neal stuck the picks in and turned the lock. He pulled the picks out and stepped back form the door. Rick turned the handle, pushed the door open and rushed in with his gun up. He saw Fowler standing in the kitchen with a Glock in his hand looking out the window at Justin. Rick brought his gun up, shot the cabinet next to Fowlers head making him spin around to look at Rick. It was exactly what he wanted. He took steady aim as Fowler turned all the way around Rick shot the gun out of his hand. "FBI. Freeze right there! You move and I'll shoot you in the dick, think about it. If I can shoot the gun out of your hand then what can I do to your package?" Rick asked coldly.

"It would seam you caught me." Fowler said.

Neal came in with the gun in his hand aimed at Fowlers chest. Rick saw him out of the corner of his eye. "We got it Neal. Put the gun down so we can cuff him." Rick said.

"He killed Kate." Neal said.

"I know and if you shoot him you'll never know why." Rick said side stepping closer to him.

"Do it Caffrey. Kill me." Fowler said smiling. "Shoot me. I've got nothing left. End it here and now." Fowler said.

"Neal, if you shot him you let him off easy. He knows that. Why do you think he's telling you to end it. He's more afraid of becoming some big dude bitch then he is of dieing. Think about, he's a Fed. They're going to pass him around like a toy in the joint." Rick said smiling as he walked right up to Neal and stood in front of him . "Come on Neal . Do you really want him to get off so easy?" Rick asked smirking. "You know what I can do, let me mess with his head." Rick said just loud enough for Neal to hear. "Come on, I'll let you watch." He said winking.

"You're going to make him confess to everything." Neal said coldly.

"He'll be sitting in your old cell by the time we get back to the office." Rick said nodding to Will as he put his hand on the gun in Neal's hand with his thumb blocking the hammer.

"Your crazy for walking in front of me." Neal said letting go of the gun.

"No. you had the safety still on." Rick said pulling the trigger. The gun clicked. "See. The next time you plan on shooting someone remember to take the safety off." Rick said handing it back to him with a laugh. Rick walked out and saw the others standing around. "Bring my car and Will's up front, and the other two into this clearing." He said before going back into the cabin. Will was holding Fowler in a chair by his shoulder and Neal stood by the door looking cold. "Did you read him his rights yet?" Rick asked.

"Not yet boss." Will said smiling.

"Good. You know what that means right?" Rick asked crouching down next to him. "It means technically you're not under arrest yet. It means were still in the arresting process. The way I see it, the only people that have seen you so far are us three. And guess what? They don't like you very much. So when I bring you in all fucked up and broken you know what they're going to say? You resisted arrest. You were a feisty little shit that just would not say down. Oh I see you think I'm kidding?" Rick asked he reached behind him and took his middle finger in his hand and twisted it until it snapped. "Oh, I see you have cuff break. It happens when a suspect needs to be wrestled to the ground. But it usually happens to the ring finger too." Rick said breaking that one too.

Fowler cried out in pain. "Look, I'll tell you anything you want to know." Fowler said sweating from the pain in his hand.

"I don't care what you have to say just yet. We're still arresting you." Rick said slamming his elbow into his jaw hard enough to daze him. "You can't talk until you've been read your rights, and I still haven't done that yet." Rick said. "You know being a murder mystery writer forces you to read and learn a lot of strange things. Did you know there's a spot, right here in the back of your neck that, if compressed can stop your breathing? I know it's crazy. The human body has a lot of strange little places like that. Take for instance, the human collar bone. A lot of people never think about the collar bone. It's just a part in their body until it breaks, then they think about it a lot. Do you know how fragile the human collar bone is Garry, you don't mind if I call you Garry right?" Rick asked in a calm voice.

"I don't know." Fowler said practically in tears.

"Come on, take a guess, I bet you guess wrong. Lets bet your right collar bone on this guess. If you guess right nothing happens, but if you guess wrong? Oh Garry you really don't want to guess wrong." Rick said smiling.

"20 pounds?" Fowler asked.

"Ohhhhh. Sorry. The right answer is 7. 7 pounds in a direct hit will break it. Well a bet is a bet." Rick said pulling out his gun and holding it like a hammer he lined up the right collar bone and brought his gun back with a evil smile on his face. "Will hold him really still. I don't want to miss." Rick said with an evil laugh. Will grabbed his arms and held him down in the chair. Fowler screamed and pleaded for Rick to stop until he pissed himself. "Garry, did you just make potty in your pants?" Rick asked laughing at him.

"Please, I'll tell you everything, I'll confess to every crime I've ever committed just stop hurting me." Fowler pleaded.

"Will read the man his rights. Neal see if you can find his things. I am not letting him sit in my car with pissy pants." Rick said walking up to Neal. "See, two broken fingers and he'll tell us what family member he fantasized about when he was a teenager." Rick said patting Neal on the back.

"I don't know what to say." Neal said looking at Rick in a new light.

"I'm an easy going guy. I'm almost never violent. But when it comes to family I'm willing to do a lot of things. Think about that." Rick said walking outside. "Me, Will and Neal will take Fowler back with us. Olivia, call the local cops and tell them we arrested a wanted felon. Then go over the cabin with a fine tooth comb. When you're done with that I suggest you guys find a hotel and rest for the day. I'll cover for you if you guys don't make it back by Monday morning." Rick said handing Olivia a wad of cash. "Make sure they make it home.

"Yes boss." She said smirking.

"You're playing around but you'll be calling me boss soon enough. Lets face it, I'll be a full agent in the next six months." Rick said smiling.

"It will never happen, the record for advancement is you girlfriend, and my boss Jordan Shaw. Eight and a half months." Olivia said.

"Six months." Rick said sticking out his hand.

"Six months." She said nodding.

I have to go, take care of the kids for me." Rick said patting her on the back and walking back into the cabin. Fowler was now wearing jeans and a t-shirt. "Good lets go. Will you're driving, Neal you'll sit up front and I'm going to sit in the back seat with our friend here." Rick said grabbing Fowler by the arm and dragging him out the door. When they got in and buckled up Rick took the hand cuffs off. "There's no need for these, is there? Your going to be very co-operative aren't you?" Rick asked.

"Like I said, I'll talk, you can even record it. Just stop hurting me." Fowler said looking pale.

"Good." Rick said pulling his iPhone out and hitting record. "This is the confession of Garret Fowler, former FBI agent with OPR. Witnesses to this confession are Jr. Agent Will Warner, and Consultant Neal Caffrey. You may start talking now." Rick said holding out the phone.

"On the night of my wife's murder I received a phone call. They told me the name of the man that killed my wife and where he was. I tracked down the name and address and it all checked out. I killed that man and the next day I got a package with a video and a cell phone. The video was of me killing the guy. He had me dead to rights on tape. The phone range and the guy on the other end of the line told me if I wanted to keep the tape buried then I had to work for him. At first it was little things like tap a phone, or pick up a package and take it to someone. I never got a name and I never dealt with the same people twice. About a year and a half ago the orders got more complicated. He set me up with Neal's girlfriend and told me to get in your head, to get the music box. He didn't care how he just wanted the music box. While this was going on I was working with Kate to get you two out. I got the explosives for the plane, the plan was to take off and jump out over an empty field somewhere over Canada and then blow the plane so it looked like you both died. When I got away from Peter, I was making my way to the airfield. I knew something was wrong. When she called me I tried to tell her but the line went dead. It wasn't until later that I heard the plane blew up on the ground. The explosives weren't even hooked up. The next day I tried to go back to my house bit there were henchmen types all over it. Then I got a message from him. I was dead for trying to double cross him. I've been on the run ever since." Fowler said looking like he was going to cry. "I never meant for her to get hurt Caffrey. You were both supposed to get out." Fowler said crying.

"Stop the recording." Neal said from the front seat.

"The recording is stopped." Rick said waiting for Neal to say something.

"Are you sitting there telling me you've been set up? That you did the things you've done because you were blackmailed? Do you think we're stupid?" Neal asked turning around in his seat.

"I swear it's the truth. I would have never put her on that plane if I thought it was going to blow up early. We were working together this whole time. He was controlling her too. I don't know what he had on her but he was pulling the strings this whole time. I've been on the run for the last three months trying to stay one step ahead of him. Who ever he is, he has connections. He has power and he has information." Fowler said.

Rick watched him talk the whole time and when he was finished Rick nodded. "Give me your hand." He said holding out his hand.

"I swear it's the truth. Please don't hurt me." Fowler pleaded.

"I'm not going to hurt you, well it will hurt, but I have to reset the bones in your fingers or you might loose them. Neal there should be a small first aid kit in the center consol. Inside is some gauze tape. Hand it back here." Rick said looking at the fingers he broke.

"You believe this bastard?" Neal asked in shock.

"Neal, the man is in too much pain to lie convincingly. Why do you think I left his fingers broken? This guy has been played six ways from Sunday just like the rest of you. What this sorry bastard does have is information. Information he might be less inclined to provide if he ends up loosing two of his fingers, now give me the tape." Rick said holding out his hand.

"Fine, but this is so less stratifying." Neal said finding the tape and handing it back to Rick.

"Do you have a wallet?" Rick asked.

"I have it up here." Neal said passing it back.

"Open up wide." Rick said sticking the wallet between Fowler's teeth. "Bite down and grunt, it will help." Rick said before re-breaking his middle and ring fingers. Between the sound of the bones cracking and the unholy muffled screams Neal couldn't handle it.

"Pull over now!" he said holding his mouth. As soon as they got onto the shoulder Neal opened the door and was violently Ill.

"You okay Neal?" Rick asked.

"I think so. Do we have anything to drink?" He asked looking green.

"No. lets stop off at a gas station. Get some water and food. Fowler needs an ice pack for his fingers." Rick said taping the two broken fingers together and then taping all of his finger in a straight line. "That's as good as it gets I'm afraid. We can get you some over the counter pain pills but you're stuck like that for the rest of the trip back." Rick said as they pulled into a big Safe Way station. "You guys go in, I'll stay with Garry." Rick said. The two got out and Rick turned to Fowler. "I know you're telling the truth but you're holding back information. You have until we get back to decide if you want to cut a deal and go somewhere nice or if you want life in real prison where you get to be someone's bitch. The choice is yours but I can tell you this, I will find this puppet master with or with out your help. I'm that good. I found you in two days. Think about that, and also. Hold these." Rick said handing Fowler his extra Magazines for his gun. Rick called Neal "Neal, tell Will that two SUVs just pulled into the parking lot in front of the car. Tell him the guys inside look like henchmen from a Bond movie. Hey Fowler, are those the guy trying to kill you?" Rick asked as the doors to the SUVs opened and six guys in black suits got out with submachine guns. "Neal, this is going down here and now in the lot. Come out the back door and flank them from the side." Rick said hanging up. Hold this too." Rick said pulling his gun out and holding the door handle with his left. "Okay, lets play." Rick said before opening the door and crouching behind it. "FBI! Drop your guns on the ground and put your hands up!" He said. They all looked at him for a second before opening fire on his car. As bullets pinged off his armored car. Rick stuck his gun around the door and let off a few shots but all he hit was the two SUVs. He saw Will peak around the corner of the building to assess the situation. He thought it was funny. Here they were coming back from a take down and now they were getting shot at. To matters worse his phone was ringing.

Fowler, who was crouched down in the back seat hiding picked it up. "Some one named Alexis is calling you." He said flinching as the window in the door Rick was hiding behind shattered after the hundredth shot.

"Tell her I'll call back later." Rick said using the hole to shoot back at them.

In Chicago, the girls and Jordan were sitting down to room service breakfast. "I could get used to this. I wake up on nice sheets. I call down stairs, order a bunch of food and they bring it up to you." Kelly said before stuffing her face with waffles.

"Tell me about it. I've never had bacon this good." Jordan said.

"You know who would love this bacon? My dad. I wonder what he's doing?" Alexis asked.

"Well the poker game was last night so he should be just getting up with a hang over." Jordan said looking at her watch.

"We should call him." Alexis said pulling out her iPhone. "It's ringing,… here we go, Hey da… Dad!" She yelled.

"What?" Jordan asked taking the phone. She heard gun shots. "Rick!" she called out.

"He can't come to the phone right now he's in a gunfight." Fowler said. "He says he'll call you back."

"Don't hang up the phone. I'll call for back up where are you?" Jordan asked calling Avery with her phone.

"We're about an hour away from Niagara Falls on 90." Fowler said.

Will came around the corner shooting, he dropped two of the guys in the back and when they turned around Rick put two shots, center mass, in each of the four guys still standing. Rick took the phone from Fowler. "Give me that. Hello?" Rick asked

"Rick, I'm calling Avery to send back up to your location and I'm coming home right now." She said feeling panicky.

"No you're not. We have more agents close by. I can handle this. Now excuse me the bile is creeping up." Rick said holding the phone away as he tossed up everything in his stomach. "That's better. Now like I was saying, I got this. Just stay calm and relax. I'll call you back in about a half hour when I figure out what I'm doing next. And my God Damned New Car is All Shot to Shit!" He said kicking the door full of holes and swearing. "I'll call you back. I'm fine, my guys are fine, the only ones hurt are the dead guys that tried to kill us." Rick said looking around at the shot up gas station.

"Rick, are you sure, I mean. I…" Jordan said but he cut her off.

"Sorry Jordan I have to go. Local cops just showed up." Rick hung up his phone and pulled his shield from his belt. "Relax Guys Were Feds!" He said walking over to the cops that showed up on scene. "We were transporting a wanted Felon. We stopped off for some supplies and these Six Guys rolled up to us in these two black SUVs. We exchanged fire and they ended up dead." Rick explained.

"Sheriff, Rigby." The first cops said. "Fan out, and see if anyone else is hurt. "Joey Tape off this area." He said giving orders to his deputies.

"Sheriff, I don't know if that was the only team of guys coming to kill our Felon. I would really like to get him out of here. The faster we can get him to our New York field office the better. Is there any way we can keep moving and deal with paper work some other time?" Rick asked looking around, he didn't like the fact that they were out in the open.

"I'm sorry but we can't. anyone involved in the shooting needs to say here." The Sheriff said looking apologetic.

"I understand. Will call the team, get them here, they need to keep Fowler on the move." Rick said coming back to his car.

"They're on the way. I also called Burke, he knows what happened, Jordan called him. She also called a few other agents. We have orders to get Fowler to the Buffalo Airfield, it's about twenty miles from here. A Chopper is coming to pick him up and take his back to the office. Apparently The Hammer is coming to do the pick up." Will said as they walked back to the car.

"Will, I'm mad, they shot up my car." Rick said looking at all the bullet holes.

"I see that." Will said.

"Will, I killed four guys." Rick said feeling numb.

"I saw that too. It was a clean shoot. You car is evidence that they were shooting at you. You'll get a commendation for this, I will too." Will said patting him on the back.

"I've never killed anyone before." Rick said.

"It gets easier." Will said.

They heard sirens and they looked up to see the other agents being lead by a Cop car. "They must have got pinched for speeding and explained what was going on." Rick said.

Olivia and Melissa got out of Will's Charger and ran up to them. Melissa embraced Will and kissed him. Olivia pulled Rick into a hug. "Are you guys hurt?" Olivia asked.

"No we're fine. I need you two to take Fowler to the Buffalo Airfield and wait for some agents to come by chopper to pick him up, and bring back the agents coming to check out the crime scene. Have the guys go with you in case they sent more then one team of hitters. Stay vigilant and keep your guns in reach. These guys are no joke." Rick said.

"On it boss." She said smiling as she hugged him again.

"Go, now." Rick said pulling Fowler out of the car. "These two are taking you to a chopper. You give them trouble and they have orders to shoot you. My car just got shot up because of you. If you make my day any worse I'll make sure you end up some place bad." Rick said coldly. Rick took the full mag still clutched in Fowlers hand and swopped out the almost empty one in his gun. He took a seat on the trunk of his car, which was the only part of his car not shot up and sighed. He pulled out his phone and called Alexis.

"Dad!" She answered.

"Hey Pumpkin. It's really good to hear your voice." Rick said feeling the adrenaline wear off.

"Dad, are you okay? Were so worried." Alexis said crying.

"I'm fine. The car is shot up but I'm fine. I'm sorry you guys had to hear that. It happened really unexpectedly." Rick said wheezing.

"Dad you sound out of breath." Alexis said calming down a bit.

"I do?" Rick asked as he felt pain in his chest. He looked down and saw two holes in his vets. He reached in and pulled two smashed slugs out of his vest. "I think the adrenaline is wearing off and I'm feeling fatigued. Is Jordan there?" Rick asked feeling light headed.

"Rick?" Jordan asked.

"I took two shots to the vest. I think I broke a rib. I'm telling you so when they call and tell you I'm in a hospital that's all it is. Do not tell the girls, and do not come home early. I don't want them thinking about this kind of stuff." Rick said.

"I understand. Did you…?" She asked.

"Four of them. I'm fine right now but I might need to call Esposito and Ryan and get shitfaced to sleep tonight." He said digging the other slug out of his vest. He pocketed the two brass slugs for later.

"I can tell you it's not a good idea to sleep alone tonight. Maybe I won't cut the trip short but I will come home tonight instead. The play ends at ten I can be home by four." She said.

"I don't want to sound week, but holding you tonight sounds really good to me right now." Rick said.

"I'll be there. We'll sleep in and not go in to the office Monday. I think you earned it. I think you whole team earned it. You know you're going to get a commendation for this right?" She said smiling.

"I need to stop shooting people, I'm getting a reputation. Oh, did I tell you I solved the murder of the ADA's wife and sister last night?" Rick asked.

"No you didn't. why don't you tell me about it." She said smiling sadly. As she listened to him talk, she fought the overwhelming need to cry and get on a plane to hold him. But he was right. They didn't want to freak the girls out.

"And then I got the warrant and handed it to her and she didn't even say thank you. What a butch right?" Rick said laughing, until he started coughing. "Jordan, this cracked rib is really starting to hurt. I'll talk to you later. Bye, I love you." He said waving over an EMT

"I love you too. I'll see you tonight." She said hanging up the phone. She looked at the two girls sitting on the couch holding each other with red puffy cheeks and she understood what he meant by keeping the girls calm. "Rick is fine, every agent goes through a shoot out once in their career." She said sitting between the two girls so they could hold her. "Your dad just keeps being in the wrong place at the right time. It's like he's has an unlucky rabit's foot." She said laughing. When the two girls laughed she pulled them tighter. "Your dad and I work in a very dangerous job. It's why we have training. Your father can out shoot most agents in the FBI. He has the best gun and the best vest and a armored car. Because of all that Rick walked away from a situation that most people wouldn't have. We know the risks, and we take precautions. The best agents also have long careers. That's because we're smart enough to not do dangerous things. Six guys shot at him today and the reason he's alive is because he stood behind his car, and he wore his vest." She said.

"It's just crazy. This is his first week is it always going to be like this?" Alexis asked.

"I don't think so sweetie. You're father is used to working a lot. They used to solve a Murder case every four days, and during those four days they did a lot of work. Running down leads, questioning suspects, and catching bad killers. My department gets a big case every other week and we crack it in a few days. Then it's back to reviewing files, and teaching classes. For Jr. agents in my department they don't even get to review files and teach classes. They're supposed to be reading and studying for class. And taking class to. They have about four hours a week of sitting in a classroom. Your dad cant sit there and do nothing so I set him up with uncle Peter. They get more cases but the work is more drawn out. In the end Rick is working harder then any other Jr. agent in the building, and he's still board out of his mind. That's why he still likes looking at the cases his old partners are working on. I think, in a month when he starts taking classes he'll slow down a little bit." Jordan said.

"Lets hope so. I mean, it's the weekend. My dad has to take some time off." Alexis said.

"Oh that reminds me. I have to call and cancel dinner at aunt Betty and uncle Sam's house for tonight. Rick was supposed to attend. I bet he forgot too." She said

Rick at that moment was sitting on a hospital bed waiting for chest X-rays and looking at the two big bruises on his chest. He was also really glad he was wearing a vest. Both shot were center mass and would have been fatal.

Neal walked in an took a seat in the chair in the corner. "You look like hell." Neal said pointing to his chest.

"Hell is better then dead." Rick said pulling the two slugs out of his pocket.

"I agree. So between filling out paperwork down at Mayberry station and sitting in the hospital this day has really sucked." Neal said resting his head.

"Have you gotten any sleep today?" Rick asked.

"No, but tomorrow better be a light day. I'm coming in late." Neal said tiredly.

"I think everyone is. Oh, I called my friend the spook and he's looking onto this puppet master. Hopefully he finds something soon." Rick said touching his bruise and wincing.

"At this point I'm almost afraid of who he might find. Who's powerful enough to control an ORP agent? To know all this stuff about me, Kate, Fowler, everyone. Who's that well connected?" Neal asked.

"That's a good question, I have a better one for you. Who is the most powerful person you know? Who scares you?" Rick asked.

"I don't know? I've never really come up against some one really powerful. I'm tempted to say Mathew Keller but he's not very smart and he's too impulsive to set something like this up. He's reckless and stupid." Neal said.

Rick thought about it for a while. "Go back through your criminal past, think of every person you ever worked with or for, do any of them fit the bill for this?" Rick asked.

"You think it's someone I know?" Neal asked.

"I know it is. He had fowler in his pocket doing bullshit jobs for him for almost a year until he started going after you. Plus there's the things he's done to manipulate you. You have to know how someone ticks to do that. You have to study them up close." Rick said.

"I've only ever worked with Mozzie and Kate really. I've pulled some jobs in the past with people but we always kept thing professional, you know code names and that kind of stuff." Neal said thinking.

"Did you ever pull a job on someone very powerful?" Rick asked.

"Sure but …. oh" Neal stopped short and looked haunted.

"What's oh? Who are you thinking about?" Rick asked with a smirk.

"Vincent Adler." Neal said standing up to look out the window.

"Vincent Adler the missing billionaire? You knew Adler? You weren't in on the ponzzi scam where you?" Rick asked.

"No, I got taken just like the rest funny enough." Neal said shaking his head.

"You think it's Adler pulling the strings?" Rick asked pulling out his phone.

"I do. He know me very well. He knows what makes me tick and he knew about Kate. We both worked for Adler, it's how we met." Neal said.

"We'll get him Neal." Rick said calling his friend. "Vincent Adler. Find him, I don't care how you do it, but I want his location as fast as you can find it. I'll toss in another fifty thousand if you can find him in a week…. I knew that would get you motivated. One week. Find him." Rick said hanging up. He look at Neal. "We should be hearing from him soon."

"Good. The sooner this is over the better. I feel like this is hanging over my head like a black cloud. Once I find the guy that killed Kate I can move on." Neal said.

"Have you talked to Sara today?" Rick asked.

"No." Neal said looking at him.

"Call her and tell her what happened today. Not all of it. You don't have to tell her about wanting to shoot Fowler, or about how I got him to talk, but you should tell her about the trip and the shoot out." Rick said.

"Why?" Neal asked.

"Because women like Heroes and you're trying to get on her good side still. Telling her about a last minute ride to the top of the country to arrest a wanted felon and getting in a shoot out with six hitmen will do a number on her. When you get back to the city you might get lucky." Rick said smiling.

"I didn't think about that. You really think that could work?" Neal asked with a cocky smile.

"I do if you spin it like you participated in the shoot out instead of hiding behind a rack of cupcakes." Rick said smirking.

"I did not hide behind the cupcakes. I hid behind the magazine rack." Neal said laughing.

"I don't know why I bothered giving you my spare gun for, you did nothing with it. every time my old partner gave me her back up gun I ended up shooting someone, and saving her life. You are by far the worst partner ever. You been carrying a gun for hours now and you haven't shot anyone." Rick said laughing.

That's the way Peter and Diana found them. "And here we were told you guys were hurt. You're carrying on like it's a big party." Peter said.

"Hey guys, why did you come out here? We sent Fowler back to the city on a chopper hours ago." Rick said.

"Fowler is being interrogated by The Hammer. After we got Donovan we sent him back to the office with Jones and jumped on the company jet. It's sitting on standby at the Buffalo airstrip." Peter said smirking.

"So you took two to the vest?" Diana asked looking at his bruised chest. "It hurts like hell doesn't it?" She said.

"More then I ever would have imagined, but I didn't feel it until the shooting stopped." Rick said smiling.

"Neal, why are you wearing a gun?" Peter asked.

"I gave it to him. We were headed into an unknown situation with Fowler, he could have been alone or he could have been hiding with a team of guys. We were going in with two good shooters. If they downed us there was only two Jr. agents with just passing range score and three Pool agents out there. Neal was the third best shot of the group." Rick said.

"How did you know I was a good shot?" Neal asked.

"Hunch. Beside's you couldn't be worse then the pool guys." Rick said. "Then again he was useless today. He hid behind the magazine rack during the shoot out." Rick said.

"Hey, I drove you out here while you slept last night. Or should I say snored?" Neal said.

I did not snore and speaking of driving does anyone know where my car is?" Rick asked.

"I think it was towed to the Sheriff's station. Call Will, I'm sure he's still there." Neal said.

"Why is he still there?" Rick asked.

"He's filling out paperwork." Neal said.

"Local Cops" Diana said rolling here eyes. "I'll go get him out." She said.

"Just wait for a few minutes and we can all go. I'm waiting on X-rays to see if I have broken ribs or cracked ribs. Funny how you pry for cracked ribs, but when the alternative is so much worse you take what you can get." Rick said sitting up and groaning. "If I'm here and Will's at the sheriff's station then were is the rest of the team?" Rick asked. Trying to reach for his shirt.

"Rick stop moving." Diana said pushing him back down on the bed and picking up his shirt off the chair. "They didn't give you any pain killers?" She asked.

"They're waiting on the X-rays." Rick said growing.

"As for the rest of the team they all drove back to the city." Neal said.

The doctor came in holding up an X-ray. "You are lucky Mr. Castle. You have two cracked ribs. The breaks are really clean and the bones are setting nicely. I'm sending in a nurse to bandage your chest and give you something for the pain. This is a prescription for vicodon. Take one every six hours for the next three days. If pain persist or if you feel any worse go to the ER because it means the bone shifted out of place." He said handing Rick a paper.

"Thank you Mr. Greenburg." Rick said with an edge to his voice.

"I think you mean Doctor." He said looking insulted.

"And I think you meant to say Agent. Now send in the nurse so we can get the hell out of this shitty little town." Rick said sitting up.

"Right." The doctor said walking out in a huff.

"You really gave it to him with both barrels." Peter said smirking.

"I have a title and I think I've earned it." Rick said holding his chest. The nurse walked in with a pill and a bandage.

A half hour later and they were standing in the impound lot looking at Rick's shot up car. "I had this car less then five days. Miguel is going to flip his shit when he sees this." Rick said.

"Well technically, the car did it's job. He should be proud he made such a good bullet proof car." Neal said standing next to him.

"Right." Rick said opening the passenger door and the mirror fell off. He started laughing until he coughed. "I think the meds are kicking in." Rick said calling over the lot manager. "Do you guys have a flatbed truck to get this thing back to Manhattan?" Rick asked.

"We can do it but it's going to be costly. The car still drives. You could drive it back." The guy said.

"Normally I'd say yes but I'm too tired and hurt. How much will it cost?" Rick asked opening the trunk.

"It's going to run you about $750 if you want it done today." The guy said looking at his clip board.

Rick opened his black case and pulled ten Ben Franklins of a stack and handed them to the guy. "Here's a grand. Get it to this location." He wrote down the address to Miguel's warehouse. "My mechanic will be waiting." Rick said taking the black case and his FBI wind breaker out of the trunk.

"Here let me take that before you shift your rib." Neal said grabbing the case.

"Thanks. I desperately want to take a shower and lay down." Rick said as they met up with the rest of the group.

"About that. Your coming to our house." Peter said.

"What, Why?" Rick asked.

"Jordan's orders. Besides, Elle's cooking, I have last night's game taped, and the beer is cold." Peter said.

"Peter, I have to admit I'm not a baseball fan." Rick said smiling a goofy smile.

"Let's get you home before the drugs really kick in." Peter said getting in the rental car.


	14. Chapter 14

A short plane ride and a nice drive later and Rick was walking into the Burke house. "Hey Elizabeth, I'm sorry for not bringing anything. I told Peter to stop off and get something from the bakery but he said no." Rick said swaying as Peter helped him to the couch.

"That's okay Rick. I think there's still a bunch of wine left over from the last time you were here." She said patting him on the cheek with a big smile.

"Good, I hate showing up empty handed." He said nodding before letting his head fall back on the arm of the couch.

"Rick is kind of a light weight when it comes to pain meds." Peter said smiling.

"Did he really get into a gun fight?" Elle asked pulling Rick's shoes off.

"Six guys in two SUVs rolled up to his car with him and Fowler in the back seat. About two thousand rounds fired later he ended up killing four of them. He took two shots to the vest, and his car is shot to hell but he's fine." Peter said as they walked into the kitchen.

"Unbelievable." She said shaking her head.

"He's going to get a medal for this." Peter said.

"He earned it. Jordan said she wanted to come home early but he said not to. He didn't want to worry the girls. That's when she asked us to look after him. Poor dear, it's still his first week." She said smiling a sad smile.

"He's a good agent. This is going to be what every week looks like if he keeps this pace up." Peter said.

"Where's Neal, I thought he was with you guys?" She asked checking on her baked chicken.

"He asked to be dropped off at Sara's house. He said they might make it for dinner, but he wasn't sure." Peter said smiling.

"He's getting the hero treatment?" She asked laughing.

"Rick said he hide behind a magazine rack during the shoot out." Peter said laughing.

"Heart of a lion." She said.

"You should have seen him today. Walking around with a vest and a gun in a shoulder holster acting like an agent. He looked the part." Peter said proudly.

"Rick was right. If you treat him like an agent, he'll act like one." She said smiling.

"I can see a day when he's not wearing the anklet and working with us. I'm telling you Elle, I've never been this happy. I've got you, Neal, Jordan and Rick. I even like Sara. She's a nice girl and I like the fact that she keeps Neal out of real trouble." Peter said grabbing a beer out of the refrigerator. "And all the credit can be laid at that man's feet." Peter said pointing at Rick who was sprawled out on their couch.

The next thing Rick knew Elizabeth was waking him up and it was dark out. "Time for dinner." She said smiling.

"What time is it?" Rick asked looking at his watch.

"It's a little before seven. You've been out for five hours." She said helping him sit up.

"Oh. These pills really do a number on me. I'm not going to be able to take them and go to work." Rick said standing up holding his chest.

"I think getting shot counts as a good reason to take a few days off." Peter said watching him sit stiffly in the chair next to him. "Still hurting?"

"Not as bad." Rick said shifting in his seat. "Instead of excruciating, it's just really bad now." Rick said smiling.

"Well after you eat you can take another pill and sleep it off in the guest room upstairs." Elle said setting a glass of water in front of him. "And no wine with dinner. You're too much of a light weight." She said patting him on the shoulder softly.

"What are we having this time Elizabeth? I think you're my second favorite chef next to Carrie." He said sniffing the air.

"Chicken Kiev over a bed of wild rice, and garlic potatoes. I figure the starch will help settle your stomach after the pain pills." She said setting a plate in front of him.

"Wow, is this how you eat every night Peter?" Rick asked looking at the food in front of him.

"It's one of the reasons I married her." Peter said smiling at Elle as she set two more plate on the table.

"Some one else coming?" Rick asked.

"Neal and Sara, but they're running late." Elle said smiling.

"Probably scrambling to get dressed." Rick said.

"Most likely." Elle said. "Let's give them another minute and then we'll start without them." She said sitting across form Peter.

"Let's hope they get here fast. I skipped breakfast and missed lunch. The last real meal I had was brunch yesterday. Wow, that was yesterday." Rick said shaking his head.

"Been busy Rick?" Elle asked smiling.

"I have been. I feel like I'm really getting my footing as an agent. I love my team and I love the cases we've been working. That reminds me how did you arrest go today?" Rick asked looking to Peter.

"Easy. Diana walked in with the money. Donovan told her the reason there was a hold up with adoption was because the birth mother wanted a pay off of two hundred thousand. Diana flashed the cash and asked if this would get the adoption pushed through. He said yes and that he just spoke to the birth mother today. That's when Diana pulled out her badge and arrested him. As we were dragging him out of his office Mark the Shark walked up. When he saw the agents and flashing lights he backed off." Peter said.

"Good. At least one of us had a good day." Rick said.

The bell rang and Peter let Neal and Sara in. When they sat down Sara turned to Rick. "How are you feeling Rick?" She asked.

"Like I was shot. Twice." Rick said smiling.

"I can see how that could happen." She said laughing.

"Oh I wanted to give you this back." Neal said taking off his suit jacket showing them the shoulder rig with the Inox in it.

"It fit you really well. Like it belongs." Rick said taking the rig.

"I'm surprised at how comfortable it is." Neal said smiling.

"It makes you think about what you'll do after your four years are up. Maybe we can talk the director into letting you stay on as a Jr. agent. You can work your way up to the top from there." Rick said.

"Maybe. I'll tell you what, it doesn't sound like a bad idea, which is something I never thought I would be saying." Neal said.

"I like the idea of dating an FBI agent." Sara said.

"So you're dating now?" Rick asked.

"I think we are." Neal said.

"Good for you two. You guys look good together." Elle said.

"Since we're all in happy relationships, we should do a couple's weekend." Rick said. "We can all head out to my house in the Hamptons this weekend. It's where I was supposed to be coming home from today. The house is huge and has four bedrooms, a private beach, and a fully stocked bar. If we get out there on Friday there's a charity ball that night hosted by the Mayor. He has the house three doors down from me. What do you guys say? Peter and Elizabeth are you in?" Rick asked.

"I'm in. It sounds nice." Elle said.

"Yeah. It does sound nice." Peter said.

"What do you think Sara?" Neal asked.

"I say lets go for it. It sounds like it could be fun." She said.

"Then we're in." Neal said.

"We should invite Diana and her girlfriend Christie too. If they don't want to tag along then I can call Roy and his wife Evelyn. Roy is the captain of the twelfth precinct. He's a great guy to hang out with and his wife Evelyn is really nice." Rick said.

"It will give me a reason to go shopping. I'm going to need something to wear." Sara said.

"Good point. One day you guys should all go dress shopping. Make a morning out of it. I'm sure Jordan doesn't have something to wear." Rick said. "In fact. I'll pick up the tab because you guys have to go super high end. It's the Mayors ball. A lot of very wealthy and powerful people will be there." Rick said.

"This might be a good opportunity to hand out business cards." Elle said excitedly.

"That won't work. Trust me the last thing people want is a business card when they're having a good time. Instead pick out the best piece in your art gallery. I'll buy it and hand it off to the Mayer for the silent auction and have him put the name of your gallery on the auction booklet. You see no one remembers the person that handed them a card but if people like the things in the auction they keep the book and go looking for the galleries and stores listed in the booklet. Trust me, I've done it before." Rick said.

"I think I'll do that. We just got this nice piece from this new artist. It will be perfect." Elle said.

"Great, how much is it?" Rick asked getting up and getting his black case.

"I'm not sure. Let me see." She said grabbing her laptop off the counter and bringing up her inventory. "Oh, it's a bit steep."

Rick opened the case and turned it to her. "I'm sure I can afford it." He said.

"Price is listed at ten thousand." She said showing him her computer.

"I'll take it." Rick said setting a stack of hundreds on the table. "Do you have anything that would look good in my guest bedroom? The walls a pretty bare in there."

"What color is the room?" She asked going back to her inventory page.

"Light gray almost white." Rick said going back to his food.

"I have a few that will work, but I think this one would look good in a bedroom, it's white Lillis in a light blue vase." She said showing him the laptop.

"That is nice. I'll take it." Rick said

"This is one of the cheapest pieces in the gallery and it get no attention. I'm glad it's going to a good home." She said.

"If you like it so much why haven't you sold it already? You would think the pieces you like would get the most attention." Rick said.

"Well, it's a Burke original so I can't very well sell it to a customer." She said blushing.

"You painted that?" Neal asked looking at the pitcher.

"I did. I'm a fully trained artist, I just never get the time to paint. And when I do I just can't find inspiration." She said smiling sadly.

"I was the same way for a long time too." Neal said nodding.

"Then what happened?" Elle asked.

"I started forging bonds. It turns out I'm really good at copying, I'm not so good at painting originals." Neal said smiling.

"Well I can't do that." Elle said. "Especially not with him in the house." She said pointing to Peter.

"If you two are so good at copying then why don't you copy nature? It's what all the greats did." Sara said.

"I would love to paint you." Neal said to Sara.

"You don't have to smooth talk me Neal we're already sleeping together." Sara said and then remembered the other people at the table, and she blushed.

"Don't mind us, we already figured that was going on." Rick said smiling. "But her earlier suggestion is valid. Why don't you just paint things? Objects, people, landscapes. Just because you guys can't throw something on a canvas and call it art doesn't mean you two aren't artists. It means you're practical people. All the art in my house is realism. It looks like what it is, or it's a really cool photo. You guys live in one of the most visually interesting cities in the world. Set up an easel in a park and go to town." Rick said.

"That's what I've been telling her but she always gives me this look. Like the one she's giving me right now. I think it means I'm not getting the point." Peter said.

"You're not." She said.

"Peter, you don't understand what it's like to sit in front of a blank canvas and have nothing. No idea where to start, where to go, what to make. I'm surprised Rick is on your side of this, he's a writer." Neal said.

"Was a writer, and I was never very imaginative I wrote mystery novels." Rick said.

"Still at one point you had to start writing. You had to sit in front of a blank page and try to figure out what to write." Neal said.

"Not really. You write." Rick said confused.

"I think I can help here." Sara said. "Rick, when you're writing a book where do you start?" She asked.

"The victim. You always start there. If you don't have a good victim you don't care if the killer is caught. You think of a person. An average, everyday person. Who are they? What do they like? What's their goal in life. When you have a good victim in your head then you spend the next few days thinking of ways to kill that poor, run of the mill sap. You think of every way they can bite it until you find the worst way possible. Then you think up the kind of person capable of doing such a thing to that nice person. Why did they do it? How did they do it. You outline it step by step until you have the crime scene in you head. Then you send in your good guy and they pick apart your killer until they catch them. Easy really, I'm surprised more people don't write books." Rick said.

"Well there goes my argument." Sara said looking shocked. "But it does drive home a point my father told me once, you can't argue with a crazy person." She said smirking.

"Hey! I am not… okay I might be a little crazy." Rick said shrugging.

"I have a better argument. Peter why don't you play for the Yankees?" Neal asked.

"I hurt my elbow in high school and I can't pitch fast enough." Peter said.

"I was hoping for a speech about not being as good as a pro baseball player but you think you could be playing for the Yankees if not for a high school injury?" Neal asked.

"I do. I was very good. If I kept at it I might have been the best." Peter said.

"So we're sitting at the table with two crazy people." Neal said.

"Hey. I'm not as crazy as Rick." Peter said laughing.

"I still can't argue that." Rick said shrugging.

"Don't look at me." Sara said. "I have zero skills when it comes to art, or sports. I had a mixed bag of talent and I found a job I could do well."

"How about this, when we go out to my house in the Hamptons. Bring some art supplies with you, get hammered, and just paint things you see. Maybe when you sober up you'll see your putting too much pressure on yourselves." Rick said.

"Okay fine." Elle said.

"I'm in if she is." Neal said.

"Okay." Rick said. "Now if you don't mind I'm going to take another pill and pass out. Here's another ten for the Burke original." Rick said dropping another stack on the table.

"Rick that's like a hundred times what the price tag says." She said shaking her head.

"Well art is all about what someone is willing to pay for it. I say a Burke original is worth this much. I think it looks great and I can't wait to hang it up in my home. I'll swing by the gallery some time this week and pick the two paintings up. Now if you will just point me in the direction of the guest room, I'm starting to feel my cracked ribs." Rick said getting up slowly from his seat.

"Need some help up the stairs buddy?" Neal asked wincing.

"No I think I can manage." Rick said through gritted teeth as he stood up straight.

"Right, Peter help me get him upstairs." Neal said slipping his arm around Rick's shoulder.

"Come on supper agent, the guest room is at the top of the stairs to the left." Peter said supporting his other side.

"This really makes me feel weak." Rick said as they helped him to the stairs and Neal took him the rest of the way up. Peter followed with the pill bottle and a bottle of water.

"Shut up and take your pill." Peter said.

"That sounds like a good idea." Rick said popping a pill. "Neal, did you tell Peter we figured out the Adler connection?" Rick asked.

"I thought you did." Neal said.

"What Adler connection?" Peter asked.

"We think Vincent Adler is behind this whole thing. I used to work for him, well I was running game on him. I had no idea he was a fraud. I thought he was legit. It's why we targeted him. I was under for six months. I became the man that I am today while I was running that con. Adler knows everything about me. About Kate. Rick has his guy looking for him. Hopefully he can find him. Once we do I want to be there when we take him down." Neal said.

"Wow, this could be huge for all of us if we catch Adler. You know how many man hours went into his manhunt? Rick will be getting two medals." Peter said.

"If we catch Adler, then we should go before a judge and ask for more rope on Neal's leash. The man can't even make it to north or south Manhattan." Rick said feeling tired.

"I don't know if that's going to work. We can try, and with both of us we might get somewhere, but you never know. It's an OPR decision, and you never know with those guys." Peter said.

"I have an in at OPR. I'll look into it." Rick said laying back in bed. "But right now I'm just going to pass out for a bit." Rick said as his eyes drooped down and his head hit the pillow.

"He really is a light weight." Peter said.

"I don't know, let me see that bottle. No wonder he keeps passing out. These are way too strong. Mozzie took these after he threw out his back. When he wakes up tell him he needs something weaker." Neal said as they walked out of the room. When they got downstairs the two women were laughing. "Something funny?" Neal asked.

"We're just laughing at Rick. He left his case open again. That man throws around money like water and he just leaves massive quantities laying out." Sara said.

"We're family. He would do anything for family." Neal said remembering this morning.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Peter asked.

"Rick views people through a lens of Family, friends, and outsiders. He's with Jordan. Her daughter is now his daughter. Jordan treats you like a brother so he treats you like a brother-in-law. You guys treat me like a son, so he treats me like a nephew. You treat Jones and Diana like younger siblings so he treats then like cousins. Rick was supposed to have dinner with Ken tonight I think because he told me he was having dinner with the in-laws tonight. It's an interesting way of viewing the world and I kind of like it. I like having an uncle Rick. He's cool." Neal said.

"So what does that make me?" Sara asked.

"My girlfriend, so niece." Neal said "And don't think I don't know that was a trick to get me to say Girlfriend." Neal said kissing her.

"Stop Neal, your parents are watching." Sara said laughing.

"Peter, how did we end up with a son?" Elle asked smiling.

"I have no idea." Peter said.

Neal smiled. He noticed neither one denied it. They all shared a happy smile, and finished their coffee in a contended silence. A silence that was broken by Rick snoring loud enough to hear it down stairs. "I forgot to mention it but when he sleeps in an awkward position, he snores. Good luck with that." Neal said laughing.

Jordan looked at her watch, it was a little after four and she was still groggy from her nap on the plane. All she wanted to do was find Rick and curl up next to him. The car pulled up outside of the Burke residence and she got out. Her driver, Frank she thought he said got her three bags from the trunk. "Would you like me to take them in for you Ma'am?" He asked.

"No, I got from here. Thank you." She said looking for her big set of keys in her purse. "Oh, here I forgot the tip." She said handing him a twenty. "Thanks." She said.

"Always nice to drive Mr. Castles family around." Frank said getting in the car.

Jordan found her keys and opened the front door. She got her bags in and saw Peter at the top of the stairs. "You know home invaders rarely us a key." She said smiling.

"This feels more like I'm catching my daughter trying to sneak in." Peter said with a tired smile.

"I didn't wake Elle did I?" Jordan asked as he came down the stairs.

"No. Her and Sara killed a bottle of expensive red at dinner. She's out like a light." He said.

"How is he?" Jordan asked.

"Fine, with the right kind of pain meds he should be ready to go back to work. And he wants to go back to work. He already has his guy looking into Adler." Peter said.

"Adler? Like Vincent Adler the ponzzi guy? What the hell have you guys been doing since I've been gone?" Jordan asked.

"We've been busy. Rick works at a very fast pace. Why don't you sit down and I'll tell you all about it. Now that your back you can help us if you're not too busy." peter said.

"Don't you have to sleep? You have to get up in two hours for work." She said sitting at the table.

"No, we're all taking the morning off. We did a bust yesterday morning." Peter said.

"Is that where Rick got shot at?" She asked.

"No, I think I better start from the beginning." Peter Said.

A half hour later Jordan walked into the guest room and saw Rick knocked out on the bed with all his clothes on. "You look like a hot mess." She said laying down next to him.

"I feel like a hot mess." He mumbled.

"So it lives. How do you feel?" She asked rolling over to look at him.

"Like I've been shot." He said smiling.

"Well, it's not the first time it's happened. It's not even the first time this summer. You're like a bullet magnet." She said smiling as a tear roll down her cheek.

"Hey, it's not a big deal. I was wearing a vest and standing behind to car door." Rick said holding her awkwardly.

"It is a big deal. I know because I've been selling that lie to the girls and your mother all day. Most agents never have to even fire their weapon in the field. You shot five people in your first week." She said.

"Well. I mean if you want to get technical. I shot the gun out of Fowlers hand yesterday morning so that number should be six." He said smiling.

"It's not funny Rick. You have to slow down. You're going to get killed if you keep trying to solve every crime in the state. There are other agents and cops out there, it's not just you." She said.

"I know there are other agents working. They're getting shot at too. Will killed two of the hitters yesterday. Neal hid behind a rack of Magazines but you can't have everyone play the hero, someone has to be the plucky sidekick." Rick said kissing her.

"That's another thing. I don't like you hanging around Caffrey. He has a way of putting black marks on careers." She said.

"That was old Neal. He's changed a lot in the last five days." Rick said.

"He can't change totally. The man is a Con artist." She said.

"I think we have to have a real conversation about what I've been doing. I'm not just trying to be a good agent I'm trying to make things better. You should talk to Neal. Ask him about what changes he's made in the last five days." Rick said.

"I will, but right now I need sleep. Now roll over so you're not hurting yourself and let me hold you. You're the one that's been shot." She said.

"I can do that. Sleeping without you has been really hard." He said as they shifted around so he was on his back and she was curled up on his left side.

"It's been treble. Let's not do it too often." She mumbled as she drifted off.

Rick smiled and fell asleep. He woke up when a beam of sunlight peaked through the curtains and fell across his face. He cracked open an eye and looked at his watch. It was almost ten. "oh, Jordan, we have to get up. Were late for work." He said shaking her.

"No we're not. Were doing a half day." She said.

"Oh. In that case we have time to fool around." Rick said running his hands over her body.

"We are not going to fool around. You have two cracked ribs. There is no way we can have sex without hurting you." She said smiling.

"Well this sucks." Rick said with a pout.

"And besides, I don't want to do anything in Peters house." She said touching his chest.

"Why not? They're going to be doing stuff at the beach house." Rick said.

"When are they going to the beach house?" Jordan asked sitting up on her elbow.

"This weekend. I figured with the girls in Chicago and the Mayer calling me to RSVP for his charity ball I figured we could make it a couples weekend. You and me. Peter and Elizabeth. Neal and Sara. And maybe Diana and her girlfriend Christie. If not them then the Captain and his wife Evelyn." Rick said.

"Sound's like fun." Jordan said smiling.

Peter knocked on the door. "Hey are you two decent in there?" He asked through the door.

"No but we are fully clothed." Rick said laughing.

"Good. Elle made breakfast. Come on down. Rick do you need help down the stairs?" Peter asked.

Rick stood up wincing. "No, I'm moving around better today. My chest still hurts but I can breath better." Rick said shifting around a bit.

"Come on lets get some food it you." Jordan said leading him out of the room. They came down and saw peter in sweats and Elle dressed for work. "Hey Elle." She said hugging her.

"Hey Jordan, did you have fun on your trip?" Elle asked making two plates.

"We did, the girls love it. Room service and a nice view will keep them insanely happy for the next two weeks. Plus Martha has something planed for everyday. We went shopping Friday and saw Macbeth that night. We went to the Art Institute on Saturday and went to this little movie house that serves food at the table and saw a double feature of Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany's. On Sunday we had a spa day and that night we got dressed up and went to the last night of Don Giovanni at the Lyric opera house. It was amazing. From there I got on Rick's plane and made here by four." She said with a big smile.

"Wow, you guys really went all out." Elle said.

"Oh that's not all out. You've never met Martha Rodgers. That woman is a party by herself." Jordan said.

Rick's phone rang and he reached into his pocket but it wasn't there. "Any one know where my phone is?" He asked looking around.

"You left it on the table last night." Elle said getting up grabbing his iPhone off the charger. "It was dead so I put it on my charger." She said handing it to him.

"Oh, it's Miguel." Rick said. Looking at the missed call list, "And he's called six times this morning. This is not going to be a good call." Rick said calling him back. "Hola Miguel!" He said in a cheary tone.

"Hola? I'll give you hola Bendajo. You killed my car!" Miguel shouted loud enough for them to hear.

"Miguel. Technically it was my car." Rick said gently.

"Was is the right word. You killed it! Less then one week and you killed one of the best things to come out of this shop ever!" Miguel shouted.

"Really you should be happy Miguel. I proved your car can take a beating. You should take pictures and use it in your sales pitch." Rick said trying not to laugh.

"I know my cars work! I build ugly ass SUVs to catch bullets. That car was supposed to last you forever. You know how many man hours went into building that car?" Miguel asked.

"I know Miguel. It's the best car I've ever owned that's why I'm going to need you to fix it. How long do you think it will take?" Rick asked before pulling the phone away from his ear

"FIX IT!? YOU CAN'T FIX IT! IT'S DEAD!" Miguel yelled.

"Miguel. Relax. You'll give you're self a stroke. Take a deep breath and give me a time frame. What are we talking about? Two, three days to fix." Rick asked.

"Try two weeks." Miguel said tiredly.

"Two weeks? It only took you six days to build. How is it going to take two weeks to fix?" Rick asked.

"Your's is not the only car were working on Rick. Were building three cars at the moment and we still have the three SUVs we were building. This is not going to be an easy fix. Every panel on the car besides the trunk is full of holes. We have to strip it back to the bare frame and rebuild the shell. Then we have to fix the damage done to the engine. New glass. Lights and the paint oh god the paint. How could you Rick?" Miguel trailed off almost in tears.

"Trust me Miguel. Yesterday I had no intention of getting shot at. I was sitting in the back seat of my beautiful car in a gestation when six guy drove up and started shooting at me with Sub machine guns. If I didn't have that great car I would have died yesterday." Rick said.

Miguel sighed. "I didn't know that hurmono. Are you okay?" He asked feeling bad about yelling.

"I took two to the vest, but I'm fine. That's why I want you to fix her up for me. That car saved my life Miguel. I want Her back as soon as you can get her to me. I know you built a driving piece of art. What I need is KITT from knight rider. If this first week is any indication of my job then that car is going to come back to the shop a lot. You better get used to her being full of holes. In fact I want you to paint a Purple heart on the side under the badge. She's taken a bullet for me once. She earned it. I also need a loner. Something I can drive around until you get her back to me. Something that can do what she did yesterday. If you don't trust me to rent, I'll buy. I can't do this job without an armored car, but if I'm buying then I want the meanest god forsaken ride you have. I want fire and brimstone." Rick said smiling an evil smile.

Miguel sighed. "How about The Reaper?" Miguel asked smiling.

"That might just work. You're my first stop Miguel, I'm never driving anything that's not combat ready. I always fancied myself James Bond, I want a car to match." Rick said. "Black Betty is that car. She's hurt and I want her back." Rick said.

"I understand. Give me two weeks and she'll be running like this never happened." Miguel said.

"Thank you Hurmono. I'm bringing my black case. Charge me what ever you think you need to. Money is not an issue where Betty is concerned." Rick said.

"I'll send the boys to bring The Reaper out of her cage for you." Miguel said.

"See you in a couple of hours." Rick said hanging up.

"Black Betty?" Jordan asked.

"Shut up Francine. Now do you have work clothes or do you want me to have Jena bring you something?" Rick asked.

"Can't we stop by my place? I have some mild pain pills so you can stop wincing every time you move." She said.

"Okay we go to Miguel's first then your house and then the office. Peter, do you want Jena to grab something for you?" Rick asked looking up her number.

"What's this now?" Peter asked.

"A suit, something that hangs nicer then the burlap sack you wear to work everyday. She's going to need your sizes anyway. She's going to have to get us our tux's for the ball on Friday. You should let her try to fit you now." Rick said.

"I'm still stuck on the burlap sack jab." Peter said.

"Why am I even asking you? Jena, I need a suit and shirt and tie. I'm also going to need you to fit someone. Elle will give you his sizes and the address." Rick said handing her the phone.

"I'm sorry, but did you just go over my head?" Peter asked smiling.

"No I just went to the source of all the information in this house. Now I need a shower desperately. Jenna should be here in fifteen minutes. Thank you guys for letting me crash here, and for breakfast Elizabeth. Your cooking is amazing as always. If you will point me in the direction of the nearest shower I will stop stinking up the place." Rick said smelling his shirt. "I'm going to have to burn these clothes." He said.

"The shower in upstairs on the right. Towels are in the cabinet to the left." Elle said.

"Thank you." He said walking upstairs.

"What just happened?" Peter asked.

"Jena is coming over. She will change the way you live." Jordan said smiling. "I fought against her for a few minutes, then I tried on my first pair of Jimmy Choo's. After that I just wear what she picks out for me." Jordan said.

"She's good?" Elle asked.

"Unbelievably good. Style, cut, color, she knows it all. She never brought me anything I couldn't run in, or be comfortable in. She know what you do and dresses you for the part, just better." Jordan said.

"But I like my suits." Peter said in a whiny tone.

"And you'll like this one better." Jordan said laughing.

Elle just sat there enjoying the byplay. Someone rang the bell. she opened the door to find a very perky blond holding garment bags. "Hi I'm Jena!" She said excitedly.

"Elizabeth." She said letting her in.

"I have a Donna Karen v neck red dress that would look amazing on you. Let me write that down. Jordan this bag is for Rick. I hope he has shoes because I didn't have anything in his style. You must be the 44 regular. I'm Jena. Here put this on." she said handing Peter the garment bag.

"I have to shower first." Peter said looking at the bag.

"Well get to it. I want to check the cut before I go." She said turning back to Elle, "You're a six right?" She asked writing in a little black book with a gold pen. "And shoes?" She asked. Studying Elizabeth in a way that was making her very uncomfortable.

"8." Elle said.

"I just got a whole shipment of Louboutin's in size 8's yesterday. We'll have to have a session at my studio some day soon. You have the perfect figure for some of the pieces I just got. What field do you work in?" Jena asked without looking up.

"I own an art gallery." Elle said.

"Then we are defiantly going to want to put some bold colors on you. The Donna Karen red dress is a good start. I also have a few items I'd like to see you try on from the Chanel classic line. We'll start from there and work on a rack for you. I have a rack set aside for Jordan to pick from too. You guys should come together, we'll open a bottle of Chrystal and try on clothes. It'll be fun." Jena said. She looked up as Rick and Jordan came down the stairs. "I knew the light gray Tom Ford was perfect. How do you feel?" She asked.

"Good. I like the cut." Rick said pulling at his cuffs.

"When I'm on, I'm really on. Now what is this Jordan? Jeans and a t-shirt? Are they at lest Prada?" Jena asked turning her around to read the label.

"No, they're Walmart . You have to have comfortable clothes too Jena." Jordan said batting her hand off her ass.

"You say that now but when I pour you into a pair of dark wash Pradas your ass will thank me. At lest you're wearing the bra I gave you. It keeps the girl looking perky." She said adjusting Jordan's bra much to Jordan's consternation.

"Jena!" She said.

"We need to get you to my studio soon. Your rack is almost complete. I'll start on Elizabeth's rack today. Until then let me go grab the green Gucci bag from my car. It will go good with that green dress." Jena said rushing out of the house.

"Is she always this perky?" Elle asked looking shocked.

"You get used to it." Rick and Jordan said in echo before laughing.

"I doubt it." Elle said. Jena came back in with a green purse, a cream colored jacket and a shoes box.

"Here is the bag, I also found this Chanel jacket that will go with that dress and this pair of four inch albino snake skin Jimmy Choo's. Try this on and lets see if it works. What's taking him so long, he's a man, shower, shave, boxers, suit. I'm going to go check on him." She said starting for the stairs before Jordan and Elizabeth stopped her.

"I'm sure he'll be coming down soon." Elle said shaking her head.

"I hope so. I have a meeting with my guy over at Prada." She said impatiently.

"Peter, are you done? Jena has to go soon." Elle called up the stairs.

"Be right down." Peter said. A minute later he came down the stairs in a slate blue two button suit that made Elizabeth's breathing irregular. "So what do you think? Better then my regular suits?" He asked.

"Jena, I'm going to need you to redo his closet." Elle said not taking her eyes off Peter.

"I'd be happy to. I love a good challenge." Jena said. Neal rang the bell, and opened the door. Jena was on him in a flash. "Is that a Devore? And that hat. Who does your wardrobe. I have to meet them." She said touching and pawing at him.

"Someone help me here?" He said looking around.

"Neal Caffrey, met Jena Cosgrove. My stylist and part cat. Jena stop pawing at Neal and say hello." Rick said.

"Hello, now where did you get the suit?" She asked.

"A nice lady gave it to me." Neal said. He looked at Peter with a raised eyebrow. "New suit?" He asked.

"Don't even start with me. Can we all get on with our day please?" Peter said.

"Neal what are you doing here?" Rick asked.

"I swung by with a black car to pick you up. I figure you would want to drive by Miguel's the check on your car. "Hello agent Shaw." Neal said smiling.

"Caffrey." She said eyeing him suspiciously.

"That's were I'm headed now. I take it you want to see how far along you car is coming?" Rick asked.

"The thought had crossed my mind, but I didn't know agent Shaw was back from Chicago." Neal said.

"Lets go. You can tell her about the changes you've made in your life." Rick said leading them out of the house with his black case, and one of Jordan's bags. "Neal grab those two bag." He said.

"On it." He said grabbing the two bags and following him down the stairs.

"Give him a chance Jordan. He's turned a corner." Peter said.

"Is it real or is he playing Rick for something?" Jordan asked.

"I think it's real, but see for yourself." Elle said hugging Jordan as they walked out of the house.

On the car ride over Neal talked about going straight, and turning his back on being a con man. He talked about how Mozzie was writing a book.

"How is our little friend doing so far?" Rick asked.

"He's got a twenty-six page outline and it's still going." Neal said.

"Good, he'll have three books worth of ideas. That crazy little guy is going to be the next, well me." Rick said thinking about it.

"He's counting on it. He said he want's to pay you back as soon as he can. It's his big goal. You know he idolizes you right?" Neal said.

"I know, why do you think I got him to turn so fast? I knew my in was writing. The thing is, it's not a con, he can defiantly do it. Like I said, any fool can write a book." Rick said.

"What was my in?" Neal asked.

"The Burkes. You like the way they treat you and I used it to make you see reason. You're happier today then you were yesterday right?" Rick asked.

"I am. I spent the night at Sara's place." Neal said smiling.

"Waking up next to a good woman will make waking up easier." Rick said holding Jordan's hand.

"It really will." Neal said ay they pulled up to the shop. "I can't wait to see what they have done." Neal said getting out of the car with an excited smile on his face.

"So you changed a con man." She said shaking her head.

"Two of then. You'd like Mozzie. He's oddly cultured, and slightly crazy in a very entertaining way." Rick said asthey walked in. Rick was looking around the shop for Miguel but he turned back to Jordan when she tightened her grasp on his hand. She looked like she was going to cry. He followed her eyes and saw his car. "It looks bad, but she took every shot like a champ." Rick said leading her to Black Betty. He ran his hand over the side of his car and felt the bullet holes.

"It's one thing to say it and it's a whole other thing to see it." She said letting some tears fall.

"That's why I'm always going to drive an armored car." Rick said.

Miguel walked up to them. "I know she looks bad but we'll have her running and looking pretty again soon." He said wiping the car fender with a rag.

"Two weeks?" Rick asked looking at the back door he used as coverage. "I want that door. Just like it is. I want to hang it on a wall somewhere. It's done enough." Rick said.

"I get it." Miguel said. "Now do you want to meet The Reaper?" He asked smiling.

"What's The Reaper?" Jordan asked looking confused.

"It was an idea I had a while ago." He said leading them to the back of the warehouse. "A car so evil, and badassed it scared the living crap out of people. A car that could drive to hell and back. When Rick first asked me to build him a car I was going to show him The Reaper, but he wanted something practical. There is nothing practical about The Reaper." Miguel said showing them a car under a black silk car cover. From the shape of it he could tell it was a muscle car. "Allow me to introduce you to The Reaper." He said pulling the cover off the most evil looking 1967 Chevy Camaro Rick ever laid eyes on. It was matte black with gloss black RS graphics and the paint looked like it absorbed all the light around it. It was sitting low and wide on big black rims and super wide track tires. The lights were hidden behind a black grill and the windows had limo tints. The font bumper was gone and it had a carbon fiber front air diffuser giving it a clean look. It had a carbon fiber rear lip and the back bumper and side pipes where black anodized aluminum. Miguel open the hood. "Chevy LS1 with twin turbos pushing 40 pounds of boost, that's good for 1500 horse power. 0 to 60 in 2 seconds. Top speed, I'm too afraid to find out." Miguel said turning the key, flipping the three switches and hitting the start button. The engine turned over and then it boomed to life shaking the ground. "Full bullet proof all the way around." Miguel said opining the door for him to look inside. "Two leather racing bucket seats and a bench in the back. Leather all around, with the wooden steering wheel, and pistol grip shifter. The trunk is not a safe like the BMW but it locks. But my favorite part is the sound it makes." He said motioning for Rick to get in.

Rick sat in the leather bucket seat and wrapped his hands around the steering wheel. He gave it some gas and the whole car lifted, and the sound that came from the engine was a truly unholy. "Can I take her for a spin?" Rick asked with an evil smile.

"Go for it." Miguel said jogging around to the other side of the car and opening the door for Jordan. "Rick's lady." He said waving her in.

"Thank you." She said getting in, she turned to Rick. "This car is totally impractical." She said as he idoled out of the warehouse. When he got to the street he jammed the accelerator and was thrown back in his seat. In the blink of an eye they were flying down the street. "Like I was saying, totally impractical. You should defiantly buy it." She said smiling.

"You just like bad boys in fast cars." He said grinning. "I defiantly want this car. It just really stands out in a crowd. I can't drive this around for work. It draw's too much attention." He said turning on to a dead end street and pulling a hand break u turn. "I'm sure he has a nice SUV I can barrow." Rick said.

"Rick, at this point there is no normal when you're concerned. Just do what you want and let the Bureau adapt to you. It will be easier that way. Now lets get back, buy this car and get to my place so I can change. I need a shower." She said looking at her hair.

"Okay." Rick said grinning as he drove around to the front of the building and into the warehouse. Miguel was standing with Neal. "I'll take it." Rick said.

"I thought you might. This one is a bit steep but it's one of the best thing's I've ever made." Miguel said handing over the sales document.

"It's not as bad as I thought." Rick said pulling the case and handing Miguel twelve stacks. "Second best thing I ever bought from you." Rick said tossing the case back into his new car. "You coming Neal? We have to stop off at Jordan's place for a bit and then it's off to work." Rick said pulling the seat forward so Neal could get in the back.

"Sure, if you don't mind Jordan?" Neal asked.

"Come on. You can talk while I get dressed." She said form the passenger seat.

"So how fast is this thing?" Neal asked and was promptly flung back in his seat. "Nice."

"Fast." Rick said punching it up to second and sliding on to the main street headed north to Jordan's place. When they got there they were kind of shocked at how small and messy it was.

"What? You think I have time to clean? I'm at work all day and Kelly makes mess, she doesn't clean it." Jordan said grabbing a bottle from a cabinet in the small kitchen. "Here, take one of these ever six hours for the next few days. It'll take the edge off but not knock you out." She said.

"What are these?" Rick asked.

"Pain pills from when I sprained my ankle a couple of months ago." She said grabbing a suit form her closet and some under clothes into the bathroom.

"So did you get any word from your guy?" Neal asked finding a clean place to sit on the couch.

"No, I'm not surprised either. If Adler has been on the run for this long then he won't be easy to track. Give it a few days, and we'll be kicking in doors again. "Right now I'm more interested in the 9mm John." Rick said grabbing a bottle of water from the almost empty refrigerator.

"Who?" Neal asked.

"The 9mm John. It's what I'm calling this guy. Every serial killer needs a title. This guy picks up young hookers in an old car, takes them somewhere quiet and empties a gun into their chest and arms. He then drives to a dumping site and dumps the bodies for the cops to find." Rick said.

"Jesus, and I thought the guys we chased after were bad. Do you have any leads?" Neal asked.

"None, he uses a different shity old car every time, and he doesn't have a type when it comes to the girls. The only common factor is young and pretty." Rick said.

"So you're talking about half the hookers working the streets." Neal said.

"Unfortunately, and we can't report it to the news outlets because it might make him go underground, and the only way to get good leads is to work a fresh crime scene. That means my hands are tied until he kills again. It also means I'm dooming some poor hooker. It's really bad. I'm going to spend the week really pouring over the files and see if I can find something." Rick said. Looking around the small apartment.

"Wow, it looks like your week is going to really suck." Neal said.

"It won't be too bad, I can always find something to do if things start to get too boring. This place is sad." Rick said looking around.

"Tell me about it, I thought special agents made more then this." Neal said.

"We make plenty." Jordan said coming out of the bedroom in a white suit. "For your information this place cost $1,250 a month, plus utilities. It's hard to find a good place in this city that's close enough to Kelly's school and the office." She said rubbing her hair with a towel. "I know this place is a dump, but it's temporary. We were going to move out at the end of the summer and find somewhere closer to York Prep." Jordan said.

"Well you're not coming to live back here that's for sure." Rick said looking around. "You should just move in to the apartment now. We can do it when the girls get back from Chicago." Rick said.

"It's not that bad, and I don't want to rush into living together too soon. You have no idea what kind of mess Kelly makes." Jordan said gathering her things.

"You know you guys mean the world to me. And besides I have a team of cleaning ladies. How do you think the house looks spotless all the time?" Rick asked as they walked out to the car. "You have no idea what kind of mess I make. I knew I found a kindred spirit it Kelly. We can eat messy foods and play laser tag in the house." Rick said.

"You have laser tag?" Neal asked.

"Top end. The same kind they have at laser zone." Rick said smiling.

"I want to play laser tag." Neal said.

"We'll throw a party. Laser tag, pizza, beer, and wine." Rick said.

"Now you're talking." Neal said.

"We can do it tonight." Rick said.

"Not tonight you can't. We have dinner and Aunt Betty's house." Jordan said.

"I thought you canceled dinner?" Rick asked.

"I tried to but they all want to get a good look at you. Pick your brain, make sure you're not some creep. You know, family dinner." She said.

"Interrogate me?" Rick asked smiling.

"Basically." She said nodding.

"So no laser tag." Rick said pouting.

"Man, your girlfriend is a total drag." Neal wined like a little kid.

"I know but she hot." Rick said.

"Children. The both of you are children." Jordan said laughing.


	15. Chapter 15

The day was spent uneventfully in the office. He wrote up lecture notes for Ken's Wednesday class. He had lunch with his team when they got there at noon and had them look over the case and list to see if they got the same seven murders he did when he looked it over. By three they had the same list. Rick pulled the three white boards into the conference room and posted all the cases and crime scene photos up. His team stood back and watched him work. When he was done he had eight murders and a time line stretching back five months. "Will, can you see if Ken is available?" Rick asked looking up for the first time in an hour.

"On it boss." Will said smirking as he walked out.

"You guys can play all you want by calling me boss. I'll take the title serious and start giving you assignments." Rick said writing some last minute facts.

Ken walked in and looked at the board. "What do we have here?" Ken asked walking over to Rick.

"Ken, I want you to meet the eight victims of the 9mm John. Starting in March he's killed at least one hooker a month. For the last two months, he's up his level to two in June and three so far in July and the month's not over yet." Rick said. "He has no preference for victim except Hooker, and attractive. Because he kills street walkers and leaves no ID on the victims all of these girls end up Jane Doe's. The constants in this pattern are the gun used and his preference for old, junky, cars. With girl 1 he used an old green Chevy Impala. With girl 5 he was driving a gray Caddy. Girl 6 it was a blue ford Fairlane. And with this last girl it was a brown caddy or Lincoln the witness wasn't sure." Rick said.

"Anything hard to connect the eight dead girls?" Ken asked.

"We have a ballistics match. All eight were popped with the same 9mm. Based on the bullet markings and high capacity of round it's a Glock or a Berretta." Rick said pointing out the photos of the bullets.

"I see you left space on the last board." Ken said tiredly.

"All of the evidence is stepped on and cold. It's going to take a fresh crime scene to catch this guy. I know there's going to be a ninth victim. I'm just hoping there's not going to be a tenth." Rick said looking at the blank spot.

"Jordan put you in charge of this case?" Ken asked.

"No, I followed up on a hunch and it brought me here. I want your opinion on if I have something here or if I'm crazy. I don't want to take this to Jordan if I'm wrong and I'm seeing things that aren't there." He said walking away from the boards.

"Well I can tell you now. You defiantly have something here. Same gun, same aggressive pattern of violent behavior. Same victim selection process. They might all look different but he picks them all the same way." Ken said. "This is some very high level profiling work Rick. It's almost a shame you have to hand it over." Ken said.

"I don't mind, I'd rather someone with more experience work it so we catch this guy. My ego extends right up to the point of letting some asshole get away with murder. I'm more then willing to work very hard for the person assigned to the case, but getting credit for catching a killer is not worth the chance he might get away." Rick said.

"Good answer. I'll work it with you." Ken said.

"What?" Rick asked looking shocked.

"I'll work the case with you. You take lead and I'll be standing over you shoulder checking your work. I assume you have a team of Jr. agents working with you on this? They can help you track your thoughts and ideas. They can tell you if you're close to the mark or if start to sound crazy." Ken said reading the case file for Girl one.

"But, Jr. agents don't get cases like this." Rick said.

"They do when their boss thinks they're ready for it. I think you can handle this case. Are you going to prove me right?" Ken asked smiling.

"I do this on one condition. If I can't get this guy within five days of a new body then the case is handed off. I can't let this guy kill twice. As it is this next girl is going to be on me. On my head. And Jordan has oversight over our work, if at any time she feels we are missing something she has the power to take the case from us. I'm a Jr. agent and you're smi-retired. We are going to play this one as safe as we can. Until we have a fresh crime scene I want these guys to work the files over until they know them like I do. Every set of eyes looking at them is a chance to find something to person before you missed." Rick said.

"Very mature Rick. We will play it how ever you want to." Ken said patting him on the back. "Now bring copies of the files to my office so I can go over them." Ken said walking out of the conference room and over to Jordan's office. "Rick has something real." Ken said sitting in front of her desk.

"I can get started right away." Jordan said looking up.

"No, I'm working it with him and his team. If he can get this win this early then he can write his own ticket." Ken said.

"It's too big Ken. Let him solve ten cold cases. It will have the same effect on his record." Jordan said.

"Are you afraid he'll botch it, or are you afraid he might lose it?" Ken asked.

"Lose it. He's too fresh to be playing with a killer already." She said looking worried.

"I'm telling you he can do it. He's being very mature about this. He set a deadline for handing it over to you and he wants you to have oversight over everything we do. He even knows he needs a fresh crime scene and he's made his peace with what that means. Watch us, but let him run with this. I think this is the perfect killer to cut his teeth on. Limited evidence, random victims, hard to trace cars and locations. If he can do this then he's gold for the rest of his career. You just have to watch him at home. The stress might get to him. His time table his tight. You know what stress does to agents. Keep him away from the liquor cabinet." Ken said leaning back in his chair.

"Are you sure you want to walk a fresh crime scene? It's been five very nice years for you. Are you sure you want to get back in the game now?" She asked.

"Walking a fresh crime scene and leading an investigation are two different things. I'm playing back up to his ideas." Ken said.

"Why are you pushing this? Toss him in the deep end and see if he can swim?" She asked.

"Because you need a reliable agent. A go to guy when the chips are down, the shit hit's the fan, and any other sayings you like. I was Stonestreet's go to guy, and under the stress, and teaching from him I became the agent I was. I had you. You have no one." He said.

"I have Avery." She said.

"Avery's a office drown, and an idiot. I frankly don't know how you promoted him up to agent, let alone special agent. His biggest arrest to date was that nurse who was drugging old people to death, and he had a whole team of Jr. agents to work with, good evidence, and a fresh trail to follow. His instincts are shit. You need a hunter Jordan. Someone to look to when you're stuck on a case. The man rooted out an eight time killer with one file." Ken said.

"I'm not saying he's not good, but the pressure of leading a big case?" She said.

"You need a second. Remember back in 2000 when we had a string of murders on the upper west side and that rapist in D.C. at the same time? What happened?" Ken asked.

"It took twice as long to find both of them because we where working them at the same time, as one big team." She said understanding his logic.

"You should have worked the D.C. case with half the team. We could have stopped a murder and a rape if we did. I didn't push you hard enough and I should have. I should have push you to the breaking point instead of trying to get every win for myself. If two cases come up at the same time, or you get hurt, or you get shot, or a thousand other bad things happen to you then he can step in and hunt for you. You need a second, Ideally he would have been younger then you, not the same age but he's working your Jr. agents pretty hard and I'm guessing the rest of the kids in that room are Pool agents." He said.

"They are. Rick has Jr. agents." She said laughing.

"The man needs them. At this speed his arrest record is going to beat Avery's. he's out pacing you as a Jr. agent." He said laughing.

"Hey, he's got a bit of a head start. I was green when I first got here. My first arrest was the first time I even saw someone arrested. He's had two and a half years of police work under his belt." She said smirking.

"All I hear is excuses. You have how many recorded arrests?" Ken asked.

"I've lost count. More then 200." She said.

"In fifteen years. He's got what? 6 or 7 in his first week. He keeps it up and he'll catch up to you in a year." Ken said smirking.

"Yeah but he's been catching purse snatchers and dirty lawyers. I arrested 200 killers." She said in a whiny voice.

"Whine, whine, childish excuse, whine." Ken said before they both laughed.

Rick walked in with a stack of files. "I made copies of everything I have. Do you want me to put them in your office?" Rick asked.

"You made the copies?" Ken asked. "I thought you had Jr. agents for that sort of thing." Ken said laughing.

"My team is busy looking over the time line. I don't want to over tax their small brains." Rick said jokingly.

"I'll take those. It's close to quitting time for me. Are we on for dinner at Sam and Betty's tonight?" Ken asked standing up.

"We are. Do you want us to pick you guys up or are you going to make the drive out yourselves?" Jordan asked.

"I'm driving. Jenny can't take my car away from me. She took everything else." Ken said.

"That reminds me Ken, I have a big box of candies in my desk for you." Rick said walking the older man to his office.

"You're a true blessing son." Ken said as Rick set the files on his desk and a big box of caramels. "I thought for sure I was going to regret taking you on. Now I'm glad I did." Ken said opening the box like a treasure chest.

"I love watching you go after the candy like a little kid." Rick said.

"Rick, there will come a day, when you're older, and you realize you have to take time to enjoy the little things in life. Good candy. The perfect cup of coffee. A comfortable tweed suit. A good broken in chair. A little morning fun with the wife. Sunday dinner with the kids." Ken said.

"I'm already there Ken." Rick said plopping down in the chair across from him.

"Good. It took almost dieing at 65 to get there. Speaking of how's it feel to get shot in the vest?" Ken asked.

"Hurts like a bitch, but it better then dieing. Plus I'm tipsy on painkillers so that's fun." Rick said.

"You know I killed ten people my first year as a Jr. agent. Nine of them in one bust. We tracked a string of killing to a cult out in Kentucky. This group was close to a hundred strong all living on this big ass farm. We hit the farm with thirty agents and ended up in a huge shoot out. Six agents died that day. That was my third week on the job. My partner Sam , who you're going to meet tonight, got shot twice. Once in the left shoulder and once in the chest. I was standing next to him when it happened. This big hillbilly came through a door with this hand canon. In a blink of an eye my partner was on the floor bleeding. I brought my shotgun up and blew that shit kicker through the back wall of his shack. That was the first time I ever shot someone. Even now I can see him flying through the air with this shocked look on his face." Ken said looking deep. "What about you?"

"I was sitting in the back seat of my car with Fowler. Neal and Will walked into the store. Two SVUs rolled up and I knew something was wrong. I got out and I tried the whole announce who your are and see if they'll give up. Turns out they wanted a fight. I was pined down and just hoping I'd make it out alive when Will came out form behind them. He shot two of them and the other four turned on him. I knew I needed to act fast. I brought my gun up and just ran through the speed shooting drill my instructor at the club taught me. Two shots, center mass in each target and move on to the next. It was over so fast. One second I was pined down the next I was standing over four dead bodies." Rick said mechanically.

"It's funny how the details are sketchy in your mind leading up to the shooting but the memory of the shooting is crystal clear." Ken said smiling sadly. "Have you had trouble sleeping?"

"No, then again I was knocked out on pain killers." Rick said.

"The trick is remember the bullets you got hit with. They where shooting at you. They picked the fight. You where just reacting. Even more important to remember is the fact that your partner would have ended up looking like Swiss cheese if you didn't shoot those four guys. In a kill or be killed situation, if your still standing at the end of the fight you made the right choice. Rule number one is you go home at the end of the night. Rule two is you make sure your partner does too." Ken said offering him a candy.

"I know. I've had the pleasure of being in a shoot out before, and I've shot plenty of people before. It's the dead part that has me feeling… well, you know." Rick said popping a candy in his mouth.

"I get it, but if you're going to be the best then you have to get used to the idea of killing now. Because it's going to happen again. Most killers don't come quietly." Ken said.

"I know, and I think I've made my peace with it." Rick said nodding.

"Good. Now it's time for me to clock out. I better rest up if I'm going to walk a fresh crime scene." Ken said putting the files in his bag.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. It's like riding a bike." Rick said.

"I doubt that but it's not my job to catch every detail. That's your job." Ken said shouldering his bag.

"You want me to carry your bag down to your car?" Rick asked standing up.

"I'm old not crippled." Ken said laughing. "Go check on your team. I'll see you later." Ken said patting him on the back as he stepped on the elevator.

Rick walked into the conference room and saw the team looking at the board, writing things down and talking. "So you guys had al most a half hour, what do you think?" He asked sitting at the table.

"Well, some of us think there's a pattern to the killings, and some of us think it's a crime of opportunity." Will said.

"Okay, one person from each camp tell me why. Start with the pattern. What is it?" Rick asked

"Well, if you look at the time line in terms of color you can see our guy like two kinds." Will said going to the front of the timeline. "Vic one was white. Vic two was Hispanic. Vic three is white. Four black. Five white, six Hispanic. Seven white. Our killer has a taste for vanilla, chocolate, and caramel. He likes to mix it up though. Vanilla, caramel, vanilla, chocolate. His last vic. was white, so we should be looking for Hispanic, or black. Also, he dose not like Asians." Will said sitting back down.

"We heard from one camp, so lets hear from the other." Rick said not giving anything away.

"Olivia Moss for the defense your Honor." Olivia said smirking. "This pattern is bull shit. If anything it means our guy like to vary up his hunting ground. You're assigning too much thought to a guy that's obviously killing out of frustration. This first victim is the key. Look at her. Tall, blond, white, beautiful. Our killer was out one night. He found our victim walking down the street. Picked her up like anyone would. Probably couldn't get it up. She laughed at him. He pulled out a gun and shot her. Look at the shot placement." She said.

"Explain." Rick said sitting back in his seat.

"Fay grab a chair and drag it over here." Olivia said taking her gun out and dropping the mag and clearing the chamber. "Okay, I'm the killer." She said sitting in a chair next to Fay. "Fay, bend over with your head in my lap." Olivia said.

"I don't like this one bit." Fay said crossing her arms.

"Just do it whore. I'm trying to show the boss how I killed you." Olivia said smirking.

"Fine, but you play to hooker next time." Fay said leaning over to put her head in Olivia's lap.

"So we're parked somewhere dark and secluded, and she's trying everything she knows to make the plumbing down there work." Olivia said placing her left hand on Fays head.

"Is this doing it for anyone else? Cause it's working for me." Dash said smirking.

"Shut up jackass." Olivia said gesturing with her empty gun. "Now back to the action. Like I was saying our killer is having trouble getting things going. Our victim tells him something, or she laughs. This makes our killer mad. Here he is at the very lowest point in his life and this blond bombshell is laughing at him. She's laughing at him just like the girls in high school laughed. Just like his mother laughed at him, or his sister, or whoever. You know what I'm getting at here. So our killer, enraged by the laughing reaches down between the seats and grabs his gun. Holds it to our victims back and shoots. When he dose, our vic bites down and he jerks his whole body putting the next two uncontrolled shot into her lower back. By now she's dead." Olivia said grabbing Fay by the back of her hair and pulling her up. "He throws her off him and puts one more right between her eyes just because." She says putting her gun to Fays forehead. "He then opens the door and pulls her dead body out of his car and leaves her in the alley, but, not before pouring booze in her mouth to kill any DNA he might have left. That's when he looked down and saw his raging hard on, and he knew it had nothing to do with the girl he just killed but it came from the act of killing." Olivia said.

"Did anyone else think about this or something like it?" Rick asked looking at the group.

"No." Will said and the rest of the group shook there heads.

"Then I must congratulate you Olivia, you carked this case wide open, or as open as I cracked it on Friday. You're absolutely right. This is the only victim with entry wounds to the back. It's also his first kill. As for the pattern, I think it's like you said. Different hunting grounds. I think in the back of his head it doesn't matter who it is he's killing black, white, red, or green. He doesn't care. As long as they're pretty. As for the no Asians thing. Good call but for the wrong reason. The only Asian hookers in this city work china town. Our killer doesn't go there. He also stays out of Queens, Staten Island, and Brooklyn. What does that tell you?" Rick asked.

"No bridges and tunnels. Nothing that's monitored. Or controlled by police check points." Said Mike.

"Spot on Butterman. Spot on." Rick said sharing a smile with Mike. "Now what dose that tell you, and it would also explain why our Killer reacted the way he did." Rick asked.

"Our killer is a cop, or he was." Olivia said. "That's going to make things fun." She said rolling her eyes.

"No, it's going to make things easier. All officers register their guns and calibers with the NYPD. What we need to do is get a copy of that list and find anyone carrying a Beretta or Glock 9mm. This should narrow the list down to half of all on duty or retired officers. I'm banking on retired Homicide detective from Manhattan or the Bronx. I will be asking a friend in the department to supply us with a list of names. That will narrow down ever more. But until we walk a fresh scene we wont get any good evidence. Without evidence we can not go around harassing retired cops. That is not going to get us anywhere but in a jam. So for now we'll get the list and see where it takes us. Then we wait for a body to drop. As bad as that sounds it even worse in reality." Rick said from his seat at the head of the table. "For now study the cases. Study the victims. Know every detail of these files. We have one shot at this. One. If we miss something. If we can't find the link. If we can't get that one small bit of DNA, then our killer kills again, or worse. He goes under, moves out of state, and changes his M.O. then the next time we catch up with him will be when we get the case of someone killing school children. Do you want that call? I know I don't. So study up people. Because we can get the phone call at any time." Rick said getting up and walking out of the room.

"Do you ever notice how he can find the worst case scenario in every situation?" Dash asked looking shocked.

"It's his mind, it's what he does." Olivia said looking thoughtful.

"Okay guys, we have eight people in the room and eight victims. Everyone take a case and start form there." Will said taking the first case off the board.

"Why Isn't our fearless leader studying with us?" Justin asked.

"Because he studied on Friday when we were playing his mind games." Olivia said. "He knows these files backwards and forwards." she said taking the last victim, the case that started Rick's search, Marry Rubiniwts.

Rick walked into Jordan's office with his bag. "We need to head out right?" Rick asked.

"Do we?" She asked looking at her watch. "Oh shit, we do. It's five already. We have to get on the road to be there early." She said packing her things.

"Where are we going?" Rick asked.

"Fair Lane New Jersey." She said shutting her computer down and grabbing her bag.

"New Jersey? Sam commutes from another state?" Rick asked.

"He does. I want to run back to the apartment and change out of this old suit, it's itchy." She said.

"I told you before, you can't go back to your old cheap suits after you wear something good. The fit, and materials are different." He said.

"I know. I should have went back to your place instead of mine." She said as they got in his new car.

Two hours later Rick drove up to the nice suburban house on a quiet side street. He kept to low RPMs to make less noise but Sam and Ken still came out to greet them on the front porch. "Subtle car you have there Richard." Sam said.

"It's my daily driver until I can get my car back from the shop." Rick said carrying a wine crate. "You must be Sam Rooker, Richard Castle, nice to meet you." Rick said setting the crate down.

"Nice to meet you." Sam said eyeing Rick suspiciously.

"Uncle Sam stop it with the eyes." Jordan said carrying a shopping bag.

"With your parents gone it's my job to play the part of the over protective parent." Sam said smiling.

"You don't have to do that. I'm almost forty." Jordan said.

"Beside Sam, Rick is one of the good ones." Ken said.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence boss." Rick said patting Ken on the back. "Now where can I set this." Rick asked picking up the crate.

"Through here in the kitchen." Sam said leading them trough the house to the huge kitchen where two older women were cooking and chatting. "Betty, Jordan's here." Sam said.

The taller of the two women with dark red hair turned around and hugged Jordan. "Oh dear it's good to see you. You look great." She said before turning to Rick. "Hello, I'm Betty. You can set that down on the counter." She said pointing him over to the side where the wine was sitting. "What have we here?" She asked looking in the create. "Andersen's Finest Reserve Vintage Port 1986! My God." She said looking at all the bottles. "There's 12 bottles here. This stuff cost a fortune." She said looking shocked.

"Elizabeth said you like Port." Rick said.

"A good $20 bottle every now and then but this is one of the best vintages in the world. The last time I checked it was going for $1000 a bottle." She said.

"The market for it went down, and I got a discount for buying in bulk." Rick said taking the bag from Jordan. "And Sam I hear you like guns. This was sitting in a display case at my club for thirty years. I know it's not as old as some of your collection but I think you might like it." Rick said handing him the redwood case.

"IS This The Gun!?" Sam asked looking excited.

"The FBI gun cage release form." Rick said handing over the folder full of paperwork.

"What do you have there Sam?" Ken asked looking at the plain .45.

"This is Melvin Purvis' Gun, the one he used to shoot Pretty Boy Floyd." Sam said.

"Wow, would you look at that." Ken said. "Jen come see this." Ken said.

"Nice gun." The short dark haired older lady said walking over.

"It's famous." Ken said.

"It's a gun." jenny said smiling.

"Right, I keep forgetting you have no sense of what's good. Rick meet the stick in the mud I call my wife, Jenny." Ken said laughing.

"I'll give you stick in the mud." Jenny said smacking Ken in the back of the head. "Hi Rick, it's nice to meet you." She said shaking his hand.

"You as well, Kelly said your favorite book is the Grapes of Wrath. I called up my book dealer and he tracked this down." Rick said handing to her.

"A signed first edition of the Grapes of Wrath, bound in leather and with color inked borders." She said looking very impressed.

"I have a signed first edition like that for the Adventures of Sherlock Holms." Rick said.

"I love this book. I read it every summer." Jenny said.

"A good book is like a good blanket. It's comforting." Rick said smiling.

"Just so you know Rick, really nice thing are not going to make the questioning any easier." Sam said smiling.

"I know. I expect the very worst grilling I can get." Rick said.

"Good. Come have a drink with us and tell us of your intention towards our girl." Sam said leading Rick from the room with Ken.

"You go easy on him. He's not as dumb as he looks or lets on. He's not like my ex either." Jordan said to their retreating backs. "They enjoys this a little too much." Jordan said to the two women.

"Those two don't have any daughters. They like the idea of scaring your dates. It's fun for them." Betty said going back to her pots.

"Yes, well I think this one's going to last so you all better get to know him. Our two daughters are going to make sure we stay together." Jordan said.

"That's nice, now how is he in the sack?" Jenny asked smiling.

"Jenny!" Betty said shocked.

"Oh come on, he fills out that suit nice, I bet he looks good without the suit too." Jenny said laughing.

"Jenny, leave Jordan alone." Betty said handing Jordan a glass of wine. "She'll tell us what she wants." She said sitting next to her at the counter.

"You see Jen, that's how you get someone to talk." Jordan said taking a drink. "And I'm not telling you anything about that. I will say that we are very compatible in that department, more compatible then my ex." She said smiling.

"Really?" Betty asked.

"Rick is a big improvement. Big." Jordan said before giggling.

"Oh my." Betty said laughing.

Rick walked into Sam study and saw the wall of glass shelves with about twenty very old guns on display stands. "Wow, I should invite you to the club. You'd the display room." He said walking over to a silver Colt Peace Maker.

"That gun used to belong to a wild Texas Ranger. That gun has taken more lives then all the other guns in this room." Sam said.

"Texas Rangers, back a hundred years ago, now that's a lawman." Rick said nodding.

"They were outnumbered a hundred to one in some parts of Texas." Sam said.

"Hours away from another lawman, and the only backup was on there hip." Rick said smiling. "I've read the old dime store stories too. It's one of the reasons I wanted to be a cop growing up."

"What's the other reason?" Sam asked handing him a heavy glass tumbler with two fingers of scotch.

"Colombo and the Rockford Files. The day I met Cannel I thanked him for the Rockford files." Rick said thinking about his late friend and mentor.

"It was Hawaii Five-O for me." Sam said "Beautiful location, beautiful women, awesome cases."

"Manix." Ken said. "Sweat ass cars."

"Which one was our favorite?" Rick asked. "I always like the Dodge Dart."

"The 1970 Cuda convertible. Never have I ever seen a car so cool." Ken said nostalgically.

"Thing of beauty." Rick said.

"Well this was nice." Sam said finishing his drink. "Now, are you fucking my Niece to get a good position in the FBI?" Sam asked.

"Wow! That was about as blunt as a battering ram." Rick said. "First of all, I never even dreamed of joining the FBI. That was Jordan's idea. I love Jordan, full stop. If I had to choose between her and the job I would pick her. Our kids treat each other like sisters. Look I know you have to ask me things, question my motives, but if you ever disrespect Jordan like that again I'll break you in half." Rick said coldly.

"Now that's the right answer." Sam said smiling. "Look, I was planning on meeting a pansy-ass like her ex-husband. I asked him that same question a long time ago and he babbled for a few minutes about bullshit. You gave me a straight answer. I like that. Ken said you were good people. He said smart, and confident. I like that. Jordan can be a hard ass sometimes. She can also get stuck in her own head. She needs someone to get her out of her head. Her ex didn't care. He was happy to have her lost in work. It gave him time to bang his young bimbos. I should have gutted that pansy but Jordan wouldn't let me. I have two sons. When Jordan's father died I ended up with a daughter. She was an adult but she my little girl still, you get me?" Sam said.

"I have a daughter, two now, I get it. I'm surprised we didn't fish her ex husband's body out of the Hudson. If that happened to one of my girls I would have kill him." Rick said.

"I told you Sam. I told you he was good. Now can we go have dinner like grown ups? I'm hungry. Jenny packed a tasteless lunch today. I've been looking forward to Betty's cooking all week." Ken said patting the two men on the back.

"Yeah, lets eat." Sam said leading them back to the kitchen. As soon as they walked in the women went quiet. "Look out boys the women have been spreading lies about us again." He said smiling.

"Are you two done grilling Rick?" Jordan asked.

"I didn't do anything, I was on his side." Ken said laughing.

"It wasn't as bad as I expected." Rick said walking around the counter to stand behind Jordan.

"Well, we still get to grill you, so don't breath too easy." Jenny said.

They eat and talked for the next two hours. By the end they new everything they wanted to know about Rick. He answered every question with a smile. In fact, Jordan thought he might be enjoying it. After relating a detailed account of how his second marriage failed she had to ask. "You like this grilling don't you?" She asked.

"I do. It's feels like, family." He said looking around. "I haven't been grilled like this since high school. I dated a girl with a cop for a dad. He used to sit me down every time I came over to pick her up. He had this silver 1911 he carried. He would sit there and clean it as we talked. He was expecting to scare the crap out of me but instead I was really in to it. The more he grilled me with leading questions and double speak the more I got into his head and asked questions about being a cop. After the third grilling we ended up friends and his daughter, who was only trying to date someone her daddy disapproved of dumped me. We hung out a few more times after that. He even took me on a ride along once. He knew my intentions of being a cop. The old detective in my first book is based on him. I sent him a signed copy of it a to his house only to find out he died from lung cancer. I killed off the old cop the same way in my next book and made Derrick Storm stop smoking." Rick said with a nostalgic look in his eyes.

"So you like answering very personal questions?" Betty asked.

"I really do." Rick said smiling as he took a bite of his pie.

"I heard from my contact in white collar that you broke Neal Caffrey. He's telling the truth, and acting like an agent. He even was with you during the shoot out." Sam asked.

"As you know I've been floating for Peter Burke. It took me lass then a day to get a reading on Neal. Between the stories Peter told me the night before and my observations I was able to pull apart his game and call him on his shit. Sorry for the language, but it's the right word. I got in his head. Talked to him like an uncle, made myself his confidant and played with his head until I got him to think like a good guy. He's working harder then ever for Peter. He dedicating his time to working cases and a new girlfriend instead of trying to play games, and I even got to his little criminal friend. He's also pulling out of a life of crime to pursue a life as an author of Con and heist books." Rick said shrugging.

"And you think this will work?" Sam asked not trusting the con man.

"I do. The temptation to steal will always be there, but the life I've weaved together for him is one that rewards good behavior. In a year he'll be the best Jr. agent white collar division ever had. By the time he serves out his sentence he'll apply for a full time job as an agent. Or he'll work as an insurance investigator. Either way his days of crime are over. Which is a good thing as I understand that Neal is the thing that is keeping the Burke's from attending a dinner like this one?" Rick asked.

"He is. I can't be social with Peter and then have to turn around and put his favorite C.I. in jail for running a con." Sam said.

"Also you don't like Peter." Jordan said rolling her eyes.

"That too." Sam said smiling.

"How can you not like Peter? I mean, sure he can be a bit boring, and plain, but Elisabeth more then makes up for it. She's great." Rick said.

"We've been trying to get him to see reason but he wont budge. We love Elizabeth. Jenny and I have lunch with her and Jordan every few weeks, when I make the drive into the city." Betty said.

"Well then maybe we can fix this little gap in the group. What do you need as a sign of good faith that Neal has turned a corner?" Rick asked.

"I don't know. As for Peter I just never liked the guy. He's soft. Weak. He let Caffrey use him, and it cost him greatly. He's about three years off as far as where he should be. The man could have been in D.C. by now working as the top white collar agent in the FBI. Instead he risked his whole career for Caffrey and the con man turned around and burned him." Sam said shaking his head.

"Obviously I'm not going to change your mind about a con man, but I can change your mind about Peter. He's a stand up guy that's willing to put his job on the line for his guys. Even when that guy gives him no reason to do so. You might see it as week but I think it shows a level of trust in his team I hope to have one day. Your team is everything. They help you piece the details together. They call you on your crap, and they have your back in a fight." Rick said.

"Look I'm not going to change my mind on anything overnight. I'm too old for that. But I'm willing to let Burke in on the fact that were related Jordan. This game has gone on too long as it is." Sam said sitting back in his chair.

"Good, I hate lying to him. I'll tell him over lunch." She said.

Rick's phone beeped. "Sorry, I have an app on my phone for 911 text messages." Rick said. "It's my old partner. I wonder if he has the list." Rick said getting up from the table to make the call in the living room. "Hey Esposito, do you have that list is asked for?" Rick asked smiling.

"No, we caught a case about ten minutes ago. We were going to hand it off to one of the other teams because we're working a case already, but when I heard the details from the uni's I knew it was another one of your vics. I'm standing over a dead black girl found in an alley in Harlem. She has multiple GSWs to the chest and arms." Esposito said.

"That's our guy. I'm in Jersey right now but I can be there in about an hour and change. Can you have Uni's do a canvas of the neighborhood and asked anyone of they saw an old car. Also have Lanie do the initial findings. My team should be arriving on scene before me. Don't let them trample my crime scene, they're greener then a bag of frozen peas." Rick said.

"I got you, we'll hold the fort down until you get here." Esposito said.

"Great, thanks. Is she there?" Rick asked.

"No, she's back at the bullpen working the white board for our case." He said.

"Good, I'll see you in a bit. Also call in a speeding black 67 Camaro. That's me." Rick said.

"Got you bro." Esposito said hanging up.

Rick rushed into the dining room. "The next hooker just got popped. We have to go now. They're holding the crime scene for us and I have the best M.E. in the state doing the preliminary report." Rick said grabbing his jacket off the back of the chair.

Jordan got up. "How do you want to do this?" She asked.

"Well I figured, I can go on ahead with Ken in my car and you can take Jen back in Ken's car. Drop her off and meet us at the scene." Rick said.

"Why would you be taking Ken?" Jenny asked. "You work cold cases." She said turning on her husband.

"I do, but this came from cold cases. Rick found a killer in the cold case files still active. I'm helping him investigate." Ken said getting up.

"But you promised me no more active cases." Jen said looking angry and worried.

"I know, and I'm keeping that promise. I'm not working this case I'm assisting Rick on his first big case. He's investigating. I'm just following him around to give him some credibility." Ken said holding Jenny.

"You promised to stay out of the fire. You have a bad heart, you can't get stressed out." She said holding him.

"I'm not going to do anything. I'm going to stand behind him as he works so the higher up don't take the case away from him." Ken said. "Jordan is going to be there too. I'm not going to do anything. I promise now I have to go. I love you." Ken said kissing her. He let go, tossed Jordan the keys to his Cadillac CTS, and followed Rick out the front door. Rick was already in the car. "Okay son, lets do this." Ken said reaching into his coat and pulling out a pearl handled Colt Detective Special, and checking to make sure it was loaded as Rick idled out of the neighborhood and out onto the main road, once he got off the side street he gunned it taking them up to 120MPH.

"I hope most of what you told her back there was bullshit because my driving is defiantly going to get you heart rate up." Rick said flooring it as shot onto the on ramp cutting between two cars headed for Manhattan.

"Kid you'll learn soon enough that you can't tell the wife everything and more then half the time she doesn't want to know the truth. Now how fast does this thing go?" Ken asked.

"Fast enough to scare the crap out of a very tough guy." Rick said shifting up to fourth and punching it. A State trooper came up behind then with his lights flashing. "Shit, I told them to call it in!" Rick said slowing down and pulling over. The troop blasted up along side and rolled down the window.

"Agent Castle?" He shouted.

"Yeah." Rick said holding up his shield.

"Follow me, I'm running blocker for you to the bridge and then I'm handing you off to an NYPD cruiser." He shouted before punching it up to 120 in the left lane and Rick saw everyone else get out of their way.

"Now this is what I'm talking about." Rick said getting right up behind the trooper.

"This should cut our travel time in half when we get to the city." Ken said smiling from ear to ear.

"Your loving this aren't you?" Rick asked following the trooper across three lanes of traffic to make the exchange.

"You have no idea. I've been stuck in that office for five years, and for the longest time I was happy, but this, right now, this is the most fun I've had in a while." Ken said.

Esposito was walking the crime scene with his partner like he always did for Beckett, only this time he was doing it for Castle. That want's so odd for him to grasp. In the resent months he noticed the changes in Castle. As soon as Beckett stop paying attention to him he stopped pretending he was dumber then her. He stripped off the charm and games and buckled down. The work he was doing for them at the end was some of his best. And the way he worked now that he was carrying a badge was unreal. He hoped his own boss could get back to that level of police work. A Uni called out to him. Will and Mike were here. "Hey guys, Castle said to hold you guys back until he gets here." He said walking up to them.

"I just talked to him. He wants us two to shadow you two guys, and see how you work." Will said.

"So you two are his me and Ryan?" Esposito asked smiling.

"Hey, I'm no brain like him, I do my best work when I'm following orders." Will said.

"And I'm no leader, I know that." Mike said smiling. "I'm the plucky sidekick. The comic relief. I guess that means we're you two for Rick. You guys seam to like it." He said.

"Hey. Support is the hardest job, but it's also the most rewarding. Beckett is constantly in her own head, and I know she don't sleep right. Me on the other hand, I sleep like a baby. Where are the rest of you guys?" Esposito asked.

"They're getting here slowly. Like I said we're supposed to watch you. So what are we supposed to be doing?" Will said.

"Right now, this part of the job is all about giving the M.E. a chance to work in peace. We also coordinate with the Uniformed officers taking statements form any potential witnesses, and walk the crime scene to pick up most of the W's" Esposito said.

"You know, who, what, where, how. The first thing Castle is going to ask when he gets here is What do we have? It's your job to give the most detailed answer you can. Your job is to get the easy clues so they can find the one thing no one else can see or think about. Just stick with us and we'll get you on the right track. So if you guys are Castle's us then what are the other guys doing?" Ryan asked smiling.

"He's making then another team I think." Mike said. "Olivia as the leader, Fay as the talker, Dash as the comic relief. As for the rest I think he's going to make them white collar agents."

"I know he is, Melissa wants to work in the department, as does Justin. Santiago is just happy to be an agent anywhere. We'll see what the boss says when he gets here." Will said.

"You call Castle boss?" Esposito asked smiling.

"We sure do, Rick saved my life once already." Will said.

"I'm glad Castle has you guys. We were worried about him." Ryan said.

"He fitting in really well." Mike said.

"I think I here sirens. Stick with us but follow Castle, and if you ever want to see how we work a scene you can shadow us next week if we catch another case." Esposito said as a cop car and a black Camaro came screeching up. Rick got out followed by Ken. "Hey Castle." He said leading the group over to greet them.

"What do we have Espo?" Rick asked looking around with wide open eyes.

"Jane doe, approximately twenty years old. African American. Lanie counted fifteen shots to the chest. By the look of her she's a working girl. We found her purse in the trash can over there. The wallet's missing so no ID. But she had a bunch of condoms and a flyer for a club down the street, I have Uni's asking around with her picture." Esposito said as they approached Lanie hovering over the dead girl in a short black dress.

"Thanks guys, Lanie, it's good to see you, I tried calling you to invite you to the poker game Saturday." Rick said walking up to her.

"Aha," She said giving him a look.

"So I lost my favorite M.E. in the divorce?" Rick asked smiling sadly.

Lanie laughed. "Dam it Castle I was supposed to stay mad at you for a few weeks to show my girl some support, but I just can't." She said hugging him. "I've missed you." She said.

"You've missed me? I was dreading working a murder without you. When I read your report on the ADA dead wife I got all nostalgic." Rick said.

"Well it's time to put your game face on now. This one's a tough one." She said crouching down. "Fifteen shots to the chest and arms at close range with a large caliber. 9mm, or .38 by the look of the wounds. Most of the shots were through and through. This just happened about two hours ago. I place time of death some where around 8PM. By the pooling, and bruising this happened somewhere else and the victim was dropped here. I'm going to need to get her back to the lab to get you anything better then that." She said standing up.

"No that was good. All of this fit the profile of our guy. This is the freshest scene out of all of them I need you're CSI guys to take photos of everything." Rick said patting Lanie on the back. "Thank you for doing this. I know we can get someone from the FBI to do this but I requested you work any crime scene in this city that I get. I can ask for the best so I asked for you. Because of the extra work I bumped your pay grade up and I'm donating new equipment to your lab. You should be getting stuff in the morning." He said.

"Thank you Castle." She said looking shocked.

"I'm out to catch the very worst. I need the very best I can get." Rick said hugging her. "Thanks for not hating me." He said softly.

"I'm on your side in this." She said smiling.

"Good to know. Call me if you find anything please." He said.

"I will. I'll work throw the night on it." She said rounding up her guys to move the body.

"Thank you." He said before turning to look at the rest of his team that just showed up standing next to Ryan and Esposito. "Did the uni's get back yet?" Rick asked.

"Not yet, I'll put out a call." Ryan said stepping away.

"Okay, the rest of you spread out and look, try to find anything. As you guys know any small bit of evidence could be the key to finding this guy. If you see something snap a pic of it with your phone and call me over." Rick said and smiled when the group broke up into teams and started looking around Rick smiled. Rick started at one end of the alley and walked with Will. He stop when he saw something with his flashlight. Crouching down he saw a bloody boot print on the floor. "Hey, Will take a look at this, what size does that say?" Rick called out as he looked at the ground with his flashlight.

"It looks like 12, maybe 13. It's hard to tell, the second number is smudged." Will said from his spot next to him.

"It's one more piece of evidence." Rick said snapping a pic of it with his iPhone.

"Hey, I think I found Brass!" Mike said.

"Let's see." Rick said coming over to look under the dumpster. "That's a shell casing all right." Rick said snapping a shot of it before reaching under and the dumpster and grabbing it with his gloved hand. "9mm shell casing. We'll test strike points and ejector markings against a Glock and Berretta to see what gun he's using. Good find Mike. Keep looking the alley is full of stuff we just have to find it." Rick said going back to look.

"Hey Castle! We got something." Ryan called out from the mouth of the alley. Rick walked over with Will and saw Ryan standing next to a pimp in full pimp get-up. Meet the Bishop of 145th street. He thinks the victim might be one of his girls." Ryan said.

"Hello your Holiness. This is the girl we found." Rick said holding up his phone with a shot of the dead girl.

"OH MY LORD!" The pimp said freaking out. "That's Toffee. She was one of my best girls."

"Why don't you come with me to my car so we can talk." Rick said. "Are these you're other girls?" He said pointing to the line of hookers standing around.

"They my girls." He said nodding.

"Will talk to them, maybe one of them saw Toffee get into an old car." Rick said pointing.

"Bitches, some motherfucker done killed Toffee! You tells these cops anything they want to know!" The pimp said as they walked by.

"Thank you for that. Now what can you tell me about Toffee?" Rick asked sitting the Bishop down in his car.

"Her real name was Tyra something. I don't know, when she came to me she was already Toffee. I run the club down the street from here called Bishop's. I have working girls walk around serving drinks, and entertaining clients. It keeps the Bitches off the street, but some of them like working the corner to make extra cash. I discourage it but Toffee and a few others are a bunch of willfull bitches. They do what they want because they know I don't beat my hoes." The Bishop said.

"So Toffee was working the corner? Was she out there most nights?" Rick asked.

"Every night she wasn't working at the club. My girl Red will know she's the bitch with the red wig." The Bishop said.

"Thank you for your cooperation Bishop. In this situation your girls might be the key to solving not only Toffee's murder but also a string of other dead Hookers we think this guy did." Rick said.

"What every you guys need you let me know. Toffee was a good girl. The reason she came to me was he old pimp was beating on her. She didn't do no drugs or anything. She was saving up to get out of the life. When you get a pretty one like Toffee you try to keep um, but Toffee was special. I wanted her to make it. It's some messed up bullshit that she was killed." The Bishop said. The whole time he was talking Rick felt worse and worse. He let this one happen. Toffee was on his head.

They walked over to Will who was talking to the other girls. "Did we get anything?" He asked.

"Red over here says she saw Toffee get into an old green Caddy." Will said.

"Hey, Red, did you happen to get a look at the guy? Anything? Just a height and skin color would help us narrow down the list." Rick asked.

"I didn't get a good look at him, but I saw a bald white guy out of the corner of my eye." She said.

"When you say bald are we talking about shaved head, bold patch, or fryer tuck?" Rick asked.

"Like white hair and a big ass bold patch in the back of his head." Red said.

"Good, and the caddy, we talking two door, four door?" He asked.

"Four door but it had a short funny looking trunk." She said.

"Like this?" Rick asked looking up a slant back Seville.

"That's it!" She said.

"Esposito, call this in the APB on a green 1980's Caddy slant back Seville driven by a balding white male." Rick said.

"On it." Espo said.

"Red I need you to come with us, as the only witness we need you to look at a bunch of photos. Maybe we can find this guy. "Ryan did you guys have the list of retired cops?" Rick asked.

"This guy is a cop?" Red asked looking scared.

"And we're Feds, so you have nothing to worry about." Rick said showing her his shield. "We can leave your name out of it." Rick said looking to the Bishop. 

"You do as you're told." He said.

"Good. Olivia!" Rick called out and she came over with Fay. "Olivia, this is Red. She was a friend of Toffee and she saw the car she got into, and she caught a glimpse of the driver. I want you to keep her company." He said looking at Olivia.

She nodded. "Got you boss." She said. She knew what he meant. Keep her talking. Witnesses had a tendency to forget things. If you kept them talking then they remembered all the details.

"Of the rest of you, who was on the corner when Toffee left?" Rick asked.

"I was just around the corner from here." A short black girl in a blond wig said.

"Did you hear anything?" He asked.

"No. I've been thinking about it and I didn't hear any gunshots." She said.

"Thank you. You've just put the last piece of the puzzle together for me." Rick said going back to the alley.

A half hour later Jordan drove up in Ken's Caddy. She saw Ken standing by the alley and walked over to him. "How's it going?" She asked.

"Our boy is a machine. We're wrapping up now, and headed back to the office. I think he plans to work through the night." Ken said with a smile.

"You're loving this aren't you ?" She asked.

"More then you can imagine." He said as Rick walked over with Will and Mike shadowing him. 

"Hey Jordan. Did you just get here?" He asked.

"I did. I hear things are going good." She asked.

"As good as a murder investigation can go. We're headed to the office to wait for the list from Esposito and Ryan. We also need to add everything to the board. We are a little over three hours behind our killer, if we keep at this we can cut that time in half. At this point this is less of an investigation and more of a man hunt. We know what car he's driving, we have a general description, and in an hour we will know the gun he's using. At that point I'll make one phone call and have a list of every silencer sold for that model gun in the last five years. We will catch this guy by nightfall, and if we can't then we take a break and hit it again to see where we messed up. Until then we push and sleep in shifts. I'll stay on it until I make the call with Will, Mike, and Ken. You'll take the night shift if you can handle it with Olivia, Dash, and Fey. When the call comes back we'll cross check the list with the one for retied cops and bobs your uncle we have a suspect. Melissa, Carmen, and Justin can handle the pool for the day." Rick said tiredly.

"That sounds good, are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine, but the pain meds, and the drinks at dinner are really sapping me. I'm about to pass out." Rick said.

"You're leading an investigation half asleep?" She asked shocked.

"That's why I have everyone here. I'm not missing anything." Rick said with a worn smile.

"Let's get you back to the office. Ken here's your keys back. I'm taking Rick back to the office. Hand over your keys Rick." She said holding out her hand.

"I can drive. I'm not dead yet." Rick said with a pout.

"Hand them over, it's an order." She said smiling.

"Fine, but I'm only doing this so I can be rested and ready to be the first guy through the door when we go after this guy." Rick said getting into the passenger seat of his own car.

"Whatever Mr. Super Agent. Will, wrap up the scene and get everyone back to the office." She said.

"Will do Agent Shaw." He said smiling as she got in the car and drove away. "Okay everyone, lets pack it in for now. Agents get back to the office, and Officer, thank you for all you're help with the crime scene, if we need anything else we will call you." Will said.


	16. Chapter 16

When Jordan pulled into the parking garage Rick woke up. "I'm not asleep." He muttered wiping spit off his mouth.

"Right, because that was convincing." She said laughing.

"Shut up. I'm taking pain killers and I had a glass of scotch, and three glasses of wine at dinner. I held it together all this time." He said stumbling out on the car.

"Come on, you can sleep in my office on the couch." She said walking with him to the elevator.

"I can't I need to update the board while it's still fresh." Rick said dragging ass out of the elevator headed for the conference room.

"Fine but then you sleep." She said shaking her head.

"Jordan, I can't just sleep, I need to show the guys I can do this. I need to lead right now, I can't just sleep on the job." Rick said connecting his phone to the printer.

"No you need to rest. Your team is not going to think less of you if you need to sleep. You're still human Rick." She said hugging him from behind as he printed out the photos he took.

"I know, but I can sleep in an hour, I just have to make the push to midnight. Then I'll gladly hand it off when my partners gets to sleep, until then I'm up and working. If you want to help then get Coffee and donuts. We're going to need them." Rick said taking photos up.

"I'm sorry, but did you just tell me to go make a coffee run?" Jordan asked looking both angry and amused.

"I would never do that boss, but it needs to be done and you're the only one not working right now. Your shift starts at midnight. Until then relax, and go get coffee please." Rick said turning to her with a charming smile. "I love you." He said.

"That's not going to work right now." She said smiling in his arms.

"How about some loving. The team's not back yet and the office is empty." Rick said kissing her.

"Rick you're going to get us in trouble." She said not backing off, but kissing him back.

"I think I've built up a bit of good will." Rick said kissing her neck.

"I don't know if you've built up enough for this." She said pushing his jacket off and pulling his tie apart.

"I think I have. I figure we have about ten minutes." Rick said unbuttoning her shirt with one had as he kissed down her neck to her chest.

"Do you think ten minutes is enough for a quickie on the table." She asked slipping her hand down his pants.

"You keep that up and things will end a lot sooner." He said lifting her skirt. As he grabber her exposed ass the elevator dinged. "Shit!" Rick said jumping back and fixing his clothes as Jordan did the same. As soon as they got presentable Will, and Mike walked into the conference room. "You guys got back fast." Rick said giving Will a look.

"Yeah, we didn't hit any traffic, um do you want us to leave for a few minutes?" Will asked smiling.

"No smartass. Help me fix this board. Mike can you go for a coffee run?" Rick asked handing him a few hundred dollar bills.

"Yeah. The bakery on the corner stays open 24 hours a day. I'll bring back two big things of coffee and cappuccino and three dozen doughnuts." Mike said.

"Make sure you get Boston cream." Will said.

"Right, and sprinkles." Mike said leaving. When he hit the button for the elevator the doors opened and the rest of the team got off. "Two of you come with me for a coffee run. The rest head to the conference room, Rick's in there pulling a beautiful mind." Mike said with a confident smile.

"I'll go with you." Dash said.

"My too. I can use a walk." Justin said.

When they left Melissa smiled at Olivia. "It's funny what a little confidence can do for a guy, right Olivia?" She asked.

Olivia, who was looking at Mike with a hungry expression turned to Melissa confused. "What?" She asked.

"I said Mike is a lot more confident now." Melissa said while Fay and Carmen laughed.

"Shut up all of you. Lets go." She said walking to the conference room.

"Olivia has a thing for a Pool boy." Melissa said smirking.

"I said shut up, or I'll break you." Olivia said blushing.

When they walked in they were still messing around. "What all this then?" Rick asked.

"Olivia has a thing for Mike and she's embarrassed to admit it because he's a pool agent, and he's heavy." Melissa said.

"I do not! Boss tell them to stop picking on me." Olivia said pouting.

"Ladies, are your clams founded on the fact that she keeps looking at him, or that Mike walks with a swagger now?" Rick asked.

"Both, Olivia loves confidence." Fay said.

"Right, carry on then, but only until they get back with the food." Rick said dropping into the chair at the head of the table and smiling.

"Boss!" Olivia said shocked.

"Come on Olivia, Mike's a good guy. I bet he's very attentive in bed." Melissa said.

"You know what they say about big guys, they know how to eat." Fay said wiggling her eyebrows.

"Fay!" Melissa said looking shocked.

"What? It's true." Fay said smiling.

"You girls are worst then guys." Will said shaking his head.

"You have no idea, they're keeping it pretty tame because you two are around. They can get a lot worse." Jordan said smiling.

"True." Melissa said.

"Can we go back to the case now?" Olivia asked.

"In a second, what's wrong with Mike? I thought you were willing to jump anything that walked." Rick asked.

"It's not. It's just, I don't want to you know, he's nice, what if things go good and I don't know. We just met." She said blushing.

"I see, you don't usually go for nice guys and you're worried you might fall for him if you two hooked up." Rick said smiling.

"Maybe. But we just met. I don't know where these feelings are coming from." Olivia said dropping into a seat at the table.

"Well, as your boss, I'm going to tell you not to get involved." Jordan said. "As a woman in love, I'm telling you to wait and see where things go. If you like him then go for it." She said laughing.

"It's so weird talking to you like this agent Shaw." Melissa said.

"Well, this is how I treat my full time agents. I think, if Rick says you're all going to make it to full time then I think I can start acting a little bit easier around you guys. But if we're out in the field or around other agents you guys have to call me Shaw. As you ladies will one day figure out. It's hard to be one of the top dogs in this building if you're a woman. Unless you're a crazy whore like Jenifer Moss. No offence Olivia." Jordan said.

"None taken, I hate my mother." Olivia said shrugging.

"Wow, and I thought I had a strained relationship with my mother." Fay said.

"Yes, well your mother probably likes you. My mother is crazy. Literally. The only reason she got where she is, is because she's great lay." Olivia said.

Rick's phone rang. "Hey Espo! You got that list for me?" Rick asked.

"I sent it to your Email. The list has links to the NYPD database file system. All you have to do is click a name and it links to the file." He said.

"Thanks I'll have the team start looking it over." Rick said.

"Call us if you need anything else." He said hanging up.

"Anyone know how to open an email on the smart board?" Rick asked as the rest of the team came back with the coffee and doughnuts. "Take a seat guys and I'll tell you what's going on."

"I can get your email on the board." Will said turning on the board and bringing up the internet app. "Use the keyboard and mouse on the table to type in your email and password." Rick pulled up the list. "Okay what are we looking at?" Will asked.

"This is a list of every homicide detective working and retired in the last ten years. The problem is this list is not optimized for our use. We need to look at each of these, wow, 450 names, and make a new list for old, white men carrying a Glock or Beretta. We should be getting confirmation on which gun soon. As soon as we have the gun then I'll call John and have him look up anyone who bought a silencer for that type of gun. With that list and the short list of cops there should be only one name on both lists. We have our guy." Rick said looking half dead.

"We'll take these jobs in shifts." Jordan said taking over. "Olivia, Fay, and Dash you're with me tonight. I hope you guys had a good night's sleep because we're going to be pouring over the list as Will, Mike and Rick sleep on couches in the offices. Melissa, Minnie, and Justin get to go home for the night because they will be handling the pool tomorrow. If any call comes in you guys are on it." Jordan said.

Rick saw the looks on their faces. "Hey, chin up you three. You're also our back up for the arrest. These guys are going to be dead tired tomorrow if they work through the night. You guys are going to be our only back up. So rest up. We're going to need you." Rick said.

"Yes Boss." Melissa said smiling.

"Besides, you three don't want to work in profiling. You want to work white collar. That's why I'm going to tell Peter Burke about you three. I'll have him request you three every day so you guys can shadow him and his team. Learn the job you want, not the job I have. Peter and his team are good at what they do and they burn out their Jr. agent fast up there." Rick said smiling at Melissa. He knew where she wanted to be. He just had to make sure she took Carmen and Justin with her.

"Thanks boss." She said getting up. "Come on guys it's late and tomorrow is shaping up to be a big day."

"See you guys tomorrow." Rick said as they left. "Now it's just a waiting game." Rick said pouring a cup of coffee and biting a doghnut.

They didn't have to wait long. Laine called Rick ten minutes later and said the gun used was a Glock. "Okay you three, get on it. We need that list cut down to about five names. If John takes a long time getting this list to us we can stake out all five if we have to." Rick said calling john. "Hey John, it's Richard Castle… Sorry about the hour. I need a big favor but I can make it worth your time… good, I need a list of everyone who bought a silencer for a Glock in the last five years…. Yes this is for a case, we got a guy killing hookers… thank you John. I'm going to be buys about ten grand worth of merchandise in a few days… good I'll call you." Rick said hanging up. "Okay, we're all set. Let's give these guys the room." Rick said dragging himself out of the chair.

"You okay Boss?" Will asked coming around to hold him up.

"Yeah. I took pain meds and drank with dinner. Just drag my ass to Jordan's office, and drop me on the couch. I'll be fine." Rick said hanging on to the big man. Will put him on the couch. "Thanks Will, now get some sleep. I need you fresh in the morning. I have a feeling it's going to be a busy day." Rick said. His words would serve as a self fulfilling prophecy.

The sound of his phone ringing woke him up the next morning. "Hello?" He asked half asleep.

"Rick, I got that list. It's like ten pages long and the only way I could get it was hard copy. I'll bring it by the building." John said.

"Bring it. Also throw in three more X-FIVEs. You said you did gift wrapping right?" Rick asked.

"I do." John said laughing.

"Wrap them, and bring the list. I'll have fifteen thousand waiting for you when you get here." Rick said sitting up.

"I'll be there in a half hour." John said smiling.

Rick put his phone away and looked it the clock on the wall. 5:47AM. "I need a vacation after this." Rick said scratching the stubble on his face. He felt his chest and shifted around to see if his ribs still hurt. There was some pain but not much. He walked into the conference room and saw Jordan and Olivia still working, but Fay and Dash were asleep with their heads on the table. "How \'s it going ladies?" He asked dropping into the chair at the head of the table so he could see the tech board. 

"We're about six names away from being finished." Jordan said looking haggard and dead.

"And our winners of the look alike contest are?" Rick asked.

"We have two names so far." Olivia said standing and going to the board. "But my first choice for our killer is Robert Gates. 67 years old. He retired two years ago and carried a Glock18. He lives in Longwood, in the Bronx. He drove a green Chevy Impala until he reported it stolen in March, one week after the first murder." She said pulling up the file. "And look, bald as the day is long." She said pointing to his picture.

"Where did he work and what was his record like?" Rick asked pouring a cup of coffee.

"He was a homicide detective with Manhattan North, and his record was pretty good. He closed seventy percent. With over two hundred arrests." She said flipping through the file.

"So he knows what a cop is going to look for when they find a dead hooker. It also explains the dumping ground. North Manhattan. A district he knows well. He probably talked to the detectives working the case." Rick said coming around the table to study the file. "Who's the other guy?" Rick asked.

"Our second guy is Frank Mills. 59 years old and still working Manhattan South. He's married with tree kids. He lives in queens, and he owns a new Dodge Charger. The only reason we pulled his file is because his brother owns a junkyard. One of those drive it in and we give you a few hundred dollars places in the North Bronx, and he carries a Glock19. He's also a hot head with multiple shootings on his file. All of them were clean but he has a tendency to bring in bodies and not suspects." She said pulling up the file. "Also he looks like he could be Gates' twin brother. Then again most old white guys kind of look the same." She said putting the two photos next to each other.

"Funny observation." Rick said as his phone rang. "Hey John… yeah I'll be down in a minute." Rick said. "John has the list. If Gates is on it then we go get him. You're right, this is our guy." Rick said tapping Gates' picture to make it bigger before walking out.

"I'm glad he's sure, I'm not. Gate's shows no signs of being a killer. He was a good cop for a very long time. I don't see someone like that just turning into a killer." Jordan said tiredly.

"Jordan, you know as well as I do that being a killer is in every one of us. A stressful day, a fender-bender on the way home, your spouse starts mouthing off to you as soon as you walk through the door, and the next thing you know you're standing over the yappy bitch holding a kitchen knife, as she bleeds out on the carpet she paid too much for and then complained about." Olivia said.

"Okay, I'll give you that first kill, but after that one you stop. You don't keep killing." Jordan said.

"You do when you spent your life seeing killers get away with murders. You kill a hooker, dump the body and the car, and no one knows you did anything. No one. You're whole life up to this point you've been told you kill someone and you go to jail for the rest of your life. Here you are two weeks later and no one even asked you about it. A month passes and you find yourself driving down the street with hookers on the corner. One approaches the car and she practically begging you to take her. You remember the feeling of killing the first hooker and the power you felt. The second one happens so fast you barely remember it. Now your sitting at home covered in blood and again no one, not even your friends on the force, ask you a God dammed thing. Rinse and repeat until it's the only thing that lets you feel." Olivia said tiredly.

"Wow, that was almost Rick like. Have you always been this imaginative?" Jordan asked.

"Pretty much. Once I saw what Rick did with it I knew I had something. Sometimes the story you come up with makes more sense then the real reason people do the things they do." Olivia said laying her head on the table.

"Well, if it means anything to you I think it's impressive. It's one of the reasons I hired Rick." Jordan said.

"Was the other reason to have his cute ass walking around the office so you had something to look at?" Olivia asked smiling.

"Do I have to remind you that I'm your boss?" Jordan asked laughing as she sat next to Olivia.

"Noooo Boss. I know." She said laughing.

"I think the sleep deprivation is finally getting to us." Jordan said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, I've been loopy since three." She said.

"Both of you keep it down, some of us are trying to sleep." Fay said.

"Hey look, it's one of the light weights." Jordan said. "Back when I was a Jr. agent Ken used to go on these tares when we would catch a new case. He would keep us up for days, and if he caught us sleeping he would push us off tables, or drop a book next to our heads. You can sleep when we catch this guy! He would say before stomping off." Jordan said smiling nostalgically.

"Was this before or after the invention of the steam engine?" Fay asked.

"Shut up skullator." Jordan said hitting her with a paper ball. "I'm not that old." Jordan said indignantly. "I'm 39."

"And your ass and legs are 25." Fay said smiling.

"I'll say. Um Sorry boss." Dash said blushing.

"Right, let's at least try to pretend I'm still your boss." She said laughing.

That's how Rick found them. "I looked over the list as I came up and Gates isn't on it. Neither is Mills." Rick said tossing the list on the table. "Back to square one." He said dropping into his chair.

"No!" Olivia said shooting out of her chair. "I was sure it was him! Gates' is the guy!" She said going over the file on the board.

"Then you better find a name that fits." Rick said "Until then I have to go Bust Adler. I got a call from my guy, Adler is staying in a town house in the west village. With a full security team of five guys. I called Peter, he getting the team together. I'm taking Will, and Mike with me to do the bust. Call Melissa and her team in here and work the list and Gates' file. Cross check every name in the file with the names on the list. Olivia and Jordan take a nap, you both look like hell. Dash, Fay, get your asses up and get to work. You slept, they didn't. I'm also going to call a friendly judge and see if I can get a warrant for Gates. He checks too many boxes to be totally innocent. There are no coincidences when it comes to murder like this. Hopefully by the time we get Adler the warrant will be ready and we can head up to the Bronx and get him next. Maybe he'll be covered in blood holding the murder weapon, and sitting in the car in the driveway." Rick said shaking his head. If he couldn't get those things then he needed to break this guy and he was an ex-homicide cop. He knew how to play the room too. "It's almost half past six now. Figure an hour for Adler, an hour drive to Gates, two hours to toss his place. And a half hour drive back. By One I need a connection I can use in the room. If you get this we can take the rest of the day off." Rick said standing up.

"On it Boss. You two go sleep. We got this." Fay said picking up the list.

Rick walked into Avery's office and found Will on the black leather couch. "Will, it's time to get up." Rick said.

"I'm up Boss." Will said rolling of the couch and on to his unsteady feet.

"Wow, slow down big guy. We have a suspect but we also have movement on the Adler case. Get Mike and head over to the west Village, Call Burke and ask where the staging area is. I'll go get Neal and meet you there." Rick said patting his on the back as he walked out. Rick drove to Neal's house and June let him in. when he knocked on Neal's door Sara answered in a red silk robe. "Hey Sara, Is Neal home?" Rick said totally unfazed by her presence.

"He's getting dressed for work, what's going on?" She asked.

"We found Adler, I'm coming to take Neal to the bust now. Peter has the rest of the team standing by." Rick said dropping the black bag on the table.

"That's great news." She said excited.

"Yeah, and we're really close to catching the 9mm John." Rick said taking off his jacket and pulling on his vest.

"Hey Rick, what's going on?" Neal asked coming out of the back room butting his shirt.

"We found Adler. We're headed there now. Gear up." Rick said pulling the second vest, and the shoulder rig with Inox out of the bag.

"So no tie today?" Neal asked smiling wide.

"That's all you have to say?" Rick asked as Neal strapped on the vest.

"No, but if I started to think about things then I'll end up shooting Adler and then I'll never get out of this thing." Neal said lifting his pant leg to show off the black tracking anklet.

"Good point, let's try not to kill anyone today." Rick said pulling his X-FIVE out and checking the magazine. He then add two more full mags to this jacket pocket and pulled it back on.

"I agree. Adler has a lot of explaining to do." Neal said pulling on the shoulder rig. Neal pulled the gun out to check it and Rick laughed.

"Why bother checking it? You didn't use it last time." Rick said.

"Look it was my first big gunfight. I panicked." Neal said.

"I know, I'm just busting your balls. Now kiss the misses good bye and lets go." Rick said taking the bag.

"I'll see you later." Neal said before Sara kissed him.

"Stay safe, let Rack lead. don't get shot, either of you. Watch each other's backs." She said hugging Rick as she walked them out.

"I'll keep him safe, don't worry." Rick said as the walked down the stairs. When they got out to the car Rick smiled at him. "That look very domestic back there." He said.

"Shut up." Neal said smiling.

"Fiery red head, I get it. I'm glad you guys are working out." Rick said.

"It's been less then a week and my life is totally changed." Neal said.

"Good. I was talking you up to Jordan's uncle last night. He might not change his tune about you overnight but I do think I can get him to loosen up a bit." Rick said.

Who is this now?" Neal asked.

"That's right, you don't know yet. Jordan's uncle is Sam Rooker, you know, The Hammer? I had dinner at his house." Rick said.

"Jordan, and The Hammer? Really? Why am I just learning about this now?" Neal asked.

"Don't feel bad, The Hammer kind of hates Peter, he has since Quantico, so he never let Jordan tell Peter. So you're not the only one doesn't know. In fact you one of the few people to know." Rick said.

"It's nice to know we have friends in OPR." Neal said.

"I wouldn't count on it. The Hammer doesn't like you very much. Then again he's only heard the bad stories, and the things said during Peter's OPR judgment. Like I said, I'm working on him." Peter said pulling out his ringing phone. "Hey Peter, yeah we're on the way… what do you mean he's got guys all over the house?…. So he's got a guy in the back and front door, we announce ourselves as we rush the house, if they go for a gun we shoot them, I wasn't planning on this going down without a fight. The man has been on the run for a long time now. These men are paid to make sure hit men don't kill Adler. I doubt they want to get in the way of seven FBI agent in full vests with guns out. If you're uncomfortable shooting someone let Will take the back door with Jones. I'll roll up to the house and take that side. We leave Mike and Diana outside incase someone gets passed us…yeah I'll meet you there." Rick said hanging up. "We're meeting the in a lot down the street. This is not going to be as bloodless as I thought. Adler's hired guns are posted out front and back. I'm guessing the other three are in the house." Rick said.

"So, it's like you said, they see FBI and they surrender." Neal said.

"Not so much, I my have lied to Peter to keep him calm. We are most defiantly going to have to engage in some good old fashioned violence. We saw what his men are capable of. How they get down. they were willing to kill three Feds to get Fowler, what do you think the guys responsible for Adler's protection are going to do?" Rick said Calling Will. "Will, you know how this is going to go down right?…yes I think these are the same guys we met before… I don't know if we have to kill them but the first sign of a gun you shoot. I don't want any of us to get hurt today, if that means we have to, kill, then we do it. Jones is ex-Navy, tell him what's going on. He's going to be your back up… I've got Neal. Mike and Peter can hit the front with us and you, Jones, and Diana can hit the back when the shooting starts… good I'm here." Rick said hanging up and turning into the lot. He stopped next to Will's Charger. "Hey boys and girl, what are we looking at?" Rick asked.

"Two guys out front. One in front and one in the back. All the curtains are closed so we don't know anything else." Diana said.

"I think I have a plan if you don't mind Peter?" Rick asked remembering he was not the most senior agent.

"No, go for it." Peter said.

"Thank you Peter, I was thinking two cars pull up to the front. Me and Neal in one, Peter and Mike in the other. When you here us pull up out front then you guys come through the back gate. I get to kick in a door for the first time and we go room by room clearing the house until we find Adler Mike, Diana I need you guys covering the back and front doors to catch anyone trying to make a run for it. Let's make it a goal to not get shot today." Rick said.

"Sounds good to me." Peter said checking his gun.

"Let's mount up. Will call me when you guys are ready." Rick said walking to his car. "Neal, I need you to drive." Rick said getting in the passenger seat and pulling his gun out.

"Okay." Neal got behind the wheel and started to put his seat belt on.

"I wouldn't do that. If you get stuck in the car I'll have to go on ahead of you." Rick said chambering a round.

"Right. Should I have my gun out too?" Neal asked as he started the car.

"Not unless you have three hands." Rick said smiling. "Why are you more nervous this time? We've done this a few times now. I'm cool as a cucumber."

"I don't know. This is Adler, the man made me who I am, he also destroyed my life." Neal said looking torn.

"Just relax, and follow my lead." Rick said answering his phone. "You're in place? Good we're rolling out now. Listen for the gun shots." Rick said hanging up. "Hit it."

"Here we go." Neal said dropping the Reaper into first and punching it. They shot out of the lot and down the quiet street, Neal took the right turn onto Adler's street and Rick saw the big guy on the front porch pull out a Glock.

"Neal stop facing the house in the empty spot right there." Rick said pointing. Neal slammed on the breaks and cranked the wheel skidding the Camaro to a stop in front of the house. Rick threw the door open and crouched behind it. "FBI! DROP THE GUN!" he yelled. The big guy brought the gun up and shot the car door. Rick took aim and shot his in the shoulder putting the guy down. "That asshole shot my car!" Rick said running up to the guy. He kicked the gun away and kicked the door in just like Beckett taught him to. His split second of excitement was smashed when a guy at the top of the stairs shot up the entry way. Rick dropped to a knee and put three in his chest sending the guy tumbling down the stairs. Will kicked in the back door and shot a guy in the kitchen.

"Boss I got two down!" Will yelled.

"Me too! That leaves one guy. Check the ground floor we're headed up." Rick said taking the stairs two at a time with Neal right behind him. At the top of the stairs Rick turned and almost took three to the vest but Neal misjudged the last stair and bumped into him sending them to the floor. Rick rolled over and put three in this chest center mass and the guy crumbled to the ground. "Thanks buddy, you just saved my life." Rick said as he scrambled to his feet. He turned to the bedroom door. "Vincent Adler! This is the FBI! Come out with your hands up and I wont shoot you!" Rick called out. Four shots came though the door in response. "Right, we do it the hard way. Neal get the door. Swing it open and I'll shoot him in the shoulder." Rick said standing next to the door. Neal got on the other side. "Last chance!" Rick called out and three more shots came through the door. "Go!" Rick said. Neal turned the handle and pushed in the door. Rick rolled into the door way with his gun up. Adler fired three more shots, two hit Rick in the vest and the third grazed his arm sending him to the floor. As he tried to get a good shot off Neal rolled around the doorway and shot Adler three times in the chest.

"Rick, are you okay?" Neal asked.

"Fine, go clear the gun out of his hand!" Rick choked out as he stood up.

"Shit." Neal said rushing Adler and kicking the gun away as his hands started to shake.

"I got it from here, go sit down somewhere." Rick said patting him on the back, and pushing him out of the room but not before taking the gun. "And you didn't shoot anything. Take my gun and toss it in the hall way by the top of the stairs. I dropped my gun when he shot through the door and you handed me this one." Rick said looking him in the eye. "Say it back."

"You dropped your gun and I gave you that one." Neal said mechanically.

"Good. We don't have to lie to friends and family, but the reports have to be worded just right." Rick said holding his arm. "Now send Peter up here and go sit in my car." Rick said.

"I don't know what…" Neal said looking shocked and confused.

"Just do as I tell you too and everything will be fine." Rick said pushing him out of the room. Peter and Will came up as Neal went down.

"Neal, where's Rick?" Will asked.

"Last room on the left." Neal said robotically.

"Neal what's wrong?" Peter asked.

"Nothing." Neal said as he continued passed them.

"Rick what's going on?" Will asked. "Are you hit?" he asked when he saw the blood.

"Maybe." Rick said holding his arm.

"Is Adler dead?" Peter asked.

"He is, and Neal shot him, but the reports will show that I lost my gun in the shuffle up here and Neal gave me his gun. And I shot Adler as he shot me. It will not say I took three shots and Neal saved my life by shooting Adler. The last thing he needs on his record is a shooting death of the man that tried to kill him. This information stays in house." Rick said taking his hand away to look a the wound. "Damn this fucking hurts." Rick said pulling his vest off. "And I think I broke a rib again!" Rick yelled as something pinched in his chest as he took his vest off. He coughed, and spit up blood. "Well that's not good." he said before passing out.

Rick woke up in the back of an ambulance as an EMT was stitching his arm. He look over and saw Neal "What's going on?" He asked felling light headed.

"Relax buddy, you've been shot, again." Neal said smiling.

"I know that. I can feel that. I mean why are we in an ambulance?" Rick asked.

The EMT answered. "You have two broken ribs and internal bleeding. We need to do some X-rays and see if we have to go in and fix the damage." He said cutting the last stitch.

"That's why." Neal said.

"Well great. Did you call Jordan? Does she know? What about Gates?" Rick asked trying to sit up.

"Stay down Agent Castle." The EMT said holding him to the gurney. "The more you move the more you bleed. Just relax, and take nice slow breaths."

"Right, sorry doc." Rick said feeling the need to cough but keeping it in. "Neal did you make the calls?"

"Peter did. Jordan said she on the way to the hospital. She's sending Ken and Avery to arrest Gates, Melissa and her team found a link to the list. I'm not sure what that means but Jordan said she has enough to get a warrant. They should be headed there now. Relax Rick, you're not the only agent. I'm sure they can handle this one. Besides, I'm pretty sure getting shot twice in a week nets you some time off." Neal said smiling a sad smile.

"Did you call Sara?" Rick asked.

"No, not yet. I don't know what to tell her." Neal said.

"Tell here what happened. No embellishment or lies, just the raw facts. She'll let you talk it out, and make sure you play up the fact that I took a bullet for you, Sara will kill me if she finds out I took you into a gun fight." Rick said smirking.

"You're afraid of Sara too? Mozzie get shifty around her. I don't know why." Neal said confused.

"She's very capable of violence. She's like a jungle cat. Beautiful to look at, but deadly. I'm not saying she's killed someone, but beat someone more then half dead? So you make sure I don't come out of the hospital only to be hit with a car. Because she'd do it." Rick said fearfully.

Neal laughed so did Rick but then he felt something pinch in his chest and he spit up blood. "I don't think that's good." Neal said looking freaked out.

"Neal, take this." Rick said pulling his holster and shield off his belt and handing it to him. "I think I'm going to pass out again. Tell Jordan not to worry the girls." Rick said before his eye's rolled back in his head.

"Rick! Can't you do something?" Neal asked.

"Not here we need to get him to the hospital. As it is I don't know how he was talking to you. He must be in excoriating pain. He has a punctured lung, and his ribs are broken." The EMT said checking monitors and.

"Rick's tougher then he looks." Neal said looking at the shield and the specs of blood on it. He un-tucked his shirt tail and tried to clean it off, but the blood just smeared.

"Were here, and it looks like your friends are here too." The EMT said pointing out the window. Neal saw Jordan, Olivia, Dash, and Fay standing by the door. The ambulance came to a stop by the doors. Rick was pulled out and rushed into the ER.

Neal jumped out and tried to follow but he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Jordan. Seeing her in person made him feel really guilty. Rick was shot twice now running down Kate's killer and both times he just stood there and watched. "Jordan. I… I'm sorry." He said softly.

"Sorry for what Neal?" She asked looking confused.

"I, he got shot twice because of me and my vendetta." He said looking close to tears.

"It's not your fault. He would have run this down no matter what. It's what makes him a good agent." She said slinging an arm around his shoulders.

"I feel so guiltily, I'll I've done so far is make things worse for him and he keeps helping me." Neal said.

"That's just the kind of person he is. What do you have there?" She asked seeing the two things he was holding.

"He asked me to hold these for him. I tried to clean the blood off, but I just made it worse." He said.

"But you tried." She said smiling. "Here lets put these on so you don't have to hold them." She said clipping the holster to his belt and attaching the shield to the loop in his vest. "Now you look like an agent. You want to help Rick? Earn one of these." She said tapping the shield. "Now call Sara and tell her you got shot at again. Make sure you tell her Rick was not responsible for it. We don't want to make Sara mad. She sounds dangerous from everything I've heard about here." Jordan said smiling.

Neal laughed. "Rick said the same thing. I don't know if I'm crazy or just falling for her but I don't see it." Neal said smiling.

"You're falling in love and you're a gluten for punishment. That being said I really like what I've heard, she sounds like a woman that will call you on your shit. I think all men need that. Now go tell her what happened and were you're at." She said patting him on the back before she walked into the hospital. As she walked through the doors she shook her head at the thought that this was the most time she'd ever spent in the hospital. Rick was really going to put a strain on the FBI insurance budget. She saw Olivia coming to get her.

"He's asking for you before they put him under. He wants to know about the Gates arrest." She said shaking her head.

"Of course he does. He's not done for the day yet." Jordan said sharing a rye smile with Olivia.

"That's the Boss for you." Olivia said laughing.

"Where is the super agent?" Jordan asked laughing with her.

"End of the hall, Dash is standing guard. He said he's not taking any chances with the Boss. every time we leave him alone he gets shot." Olivia said as they walked down the hall.

"He's not wrong, but I doubt it has to do with him being around. Super Agent is a bullet magnet." Jordan said walking into the room. "What am I going to do with you? You're the best and worst agent I've ever seen. You have more arrests and shootings then most agents get in a year. But you've been shot five times, and that's more then most agent get ever. You either have to slow down or you need to learn how to dodge bullets, but you better do it fast, because I don't know if I can take this forever." She said smiling and crying at the same time.

"I'm sorry Jordan. I didn't plan on getting shot this time. I should have waited him out. Instead I rolled into the doorway like a big damn hero and I got shot for it. I'll try to stop doing that." Rick said holding her hand.

"Good. I'd hate to have to raise Alexis with your mother, it would really suck Rick." She said crying.

"I promises to stop getting shot. It's no fun for me either you know? It hurts like a bitch." He said kissing her.

"I love you. You big goof." She said hugging his neck.

"Good, because I love you too." He said kissing her again. He took a deep breath and coughed up more blood. "Okay, I need a few things from you and then I'll let them fix this. What happened with Gates?" Rick asked wheezing.

"Rick I think you should just let them…" She said but he cut her off.

"Jordan please. You know I feel responsible. Just tell me." He said looking like he was in a lot of pain.

"They found the gun in his house and the car in the garage. You called it. Gates' name wasn't on the list but Gate's old partner Shamanski, was. He purchased a silencer four months ago along with a threaded barrel for a Glock18. The funny thing is Shamanski doesn't have a Glock18. He caries a Sig 226, but he can purchase a gun or gun parts without any waiting period. So Gates asked him to buy it for him. He said it was for a basement shooting range." Jordan said.

"Did he confess?" Rick asked wheezing.

"No, but the evidence is way enough for a conviction, I'm sure he'll plead it out for a better sentence." Jordan said.

"Good, I need two more things. I need you to not tell the girls about this little trip to the ER. You can tell my mother but not the girls. I also need you to give the three gift wrapped boxes to Ken, Ryan, and Esposito. Tell them it's for helping to catch the 9mm John. Also make sure some one talks to Neal. I don't think he's taking the shooting well. He killed Adler, and I think he's thinking too much. Now kiss me one more time and call the doctors. I'm in a whole lot of pain." he groaned out as he turned pale. 

"Hang in there Rick." She said kissing him. She tasted blood on his lips and knew it was a lot worse then he was letting on. "I'll be here when you wake up." She said as the doctors rushed in, and she was pushed out. Will, Mike, and Peter where setting in the waiting room with Olivia and her team. "Guy's it's going to be a while before he's up, why don't you go get some rest. Some of you have been going since yesterday morning." She said wiping her eyes as she spoke. 

"We're here as long as you are Ma'am." Will said.

"Well, then you're going to be shocked. I have some things to take care. I get it you guys want to be here for Rick, but I can tell it's going to be a while. Let's all go get some rest. I'm going to call the Director and get you all some time off. Super agent has been running you all ragged, and while you all did very good work you guys need to take time to prep for classes and tests. Rick doesn't have those yet. He's fresh, remember how that was six months ago when you first got here? No classes, no responsibilities. Just studying for tests and you didn't even do that. Well he's in that boat now, he's got until September to get classes. Until then he's going to run himself and you guys into the ground. In all honesty I'm glad he is. It's what we Special agents are supposed to do. The thing is, and I'm afraid to admit it, we don't know how. We have no teaching experience. No background in relaying information. We know our job and that's it. Rick is different. His background is in teaching if you can believe it. He knows how to talk to you guys, how to explain things and show you things. I can teach you why people kill. Peter over there can show you the difference between a real and a fake bond. We however can't teach you to walk a crime scene. Or fire your weapon more accurately. Or any number of other practical things about the job. Rick can, and if he dose it well enough he might just score out of Classes and tests. The thing is he's hyper. You need to take working with him in shifts. He's worked with you for a few days and he's broken you up into teams. Take turns working with him. If we get a big case then you guys can work it together, but if it's just regular cases then one team works it with him and the other two take time to work on your classes and tests." She said tiredly.

"Understood Ma'am." Will said as the rest of the group nodded. "We got some sleep Ma'am, we will stay on as your Jr. agents for the day. The rest should take time to rest. You up for it Mike?" He asked Mike who was sitting next to him.

"You know me, the comic relief is always ready to go." Mike said smiling.

"Good, you said you needed to go somewhere Ma'am, I'd be more then happy to drive you, you look like you're about to fall over." Will said.

"You know what, that's not a bad idea. I have a few stops to make and then I'm headed back to the office. We caught a serial killer today. We. Not me, or Rick, WE. As a team we found a killer in a stack of files, we found the links, we worked the crime scene, and we arrested the guy. This arrest is going on all of your records. For you Jr. agents this is going to look good, but for you Pool agents, this is going to be the first step to getting yourselves out of the pool. Three good test scores or three major arrests. This was one. We work a big case like this every three weeks in Profiling, and you guys in White Collar catch a big case every week?" She asked.

"Ten days, but it takes a few days to get anywhere." Peter said smiling.

"There you go. You guys show this level of work, and you'll all be full time agents by this time next year. Now go get some rest." She said waving them off. "As for you two, we have a few places to go and then it's back to the office, I have to talk to the doctors first but after that we have work to do." She said walking over to Neal. "Neal, can you grab the three gift wrapped boxes in Rick's trunk" She asked.

"Sure thing Jordan." He said rushing off to do it. "I like that hustle." She said to Peter.

"It's all Rick. He's got him acting like an agent. I love it." Peter said.

"Well you're agent almost got shot today. You should talk to him later." She said.

"Why not now?" Peter asked.

"Because now he needs to talk about it with someone else." She said as Neal walked up with the three boxes and the keys.

"Here you go, and here's the keys." He said handing them over.

"I don't need the car right now, why don't you keep it and take Sara out somewhere, or better yet, grab some food and take it to her house. Closer to a good bed that way." She said smiling.

"Good idea. You don't mind Peter?" Neal asked.

"No, but I wanted to talk to you later." Peter asked.

"You can bring the car back to the office later so I can drive home." She said.

"I should take this vest off." Neal said.

"No, leave it on, women love the vest and the gun." She said patting him on the back as she turned him to the door. "Now go be with Sara." She said pushing him out the door. "There cute when they're young, were we ever that young?" She asked watching Neal walk out.

"No, you were cold and calculating and I was stuck in a book somewhere." Peter said.

"True, I'll see you later?" She asked.

"Maybe we can have dinner together? I'm sure Elle is used to you and Rick being at the house." Peter said smirking.

"I might stop by later. Then again I might climb into Rick's big ass bed, roll up into a ball, and sleep until I can't sleep anymore. I don't know how I'm standing right now." She said.

"I'm glad you're not driving." He said.

"So am I. I'll see you later." She said going to talk to the doctors.


	17. Chapter 17

Twenty minutes later Jordan got off the elevators on the forth floor of the twelfth precinct. She spotted Esposito and Ryan sitting at their desks, but before she got too far Beckett walked up to her. "Agent Shaw, can I help you with something?" She asked with an edge to her voice.

"Not really, I'm here to drop off these gifts to Ryan and Esposito, from Rick ." Jordan said tiredly. She didn't want to fight with Beckett especially not today.

"'Rick' can't drop then off himself?" Beckett asked adding a sarcastic tone to the word Rick.

"No he can't, he's in surgery at the moment for the broken ribs he got from taking two shot to the vest. Now if you will just step aside I have other things to do today." Jordan said giving Beckett a look that said I'm tired, but not enough to stop me from kicking your ass if I have to.

"Oh God! I'm sorry, I didn't… is he alright?" Kate asked shocked.

"He will be in a few days." Jordan said turning to Ryan and Esposito as they walked over to see what was going on. "Hey guys, Rick wanted to give you these but he's in surgery. He took two shots to the vest and is broke his already damaged ribs." She said.

"Oh man! Is Castle going to be okay?" Esposito asked looking shocked.

"He will be, It's a small surgery with small incisions, he should be out in a few days. He should be out of surgery by now." She said looking at her watch. "Anyways I wanted to tell you we caught the 9mm John, that's what those are for." She said.

"What did Castle get us?" Ryan asked as he pulled the sliver paper back exposing the wood box. "Did Castle get us guns?" He asked looking at his X-FIVE in shock.

"He did, nice ones." Esposito said pulling his X-FIVE out. "Damn bro, this thing must have cost a few grand." Esposito said looking down the sights.

"Three actually. I have one, and I can say it's the nicest gun I've ever fired." Jordan said drawing her X-FIVE. "It's a bit heavy on the hip but worth it in a shootout. It's save Rick's life more then once already." She said smiling sadly.

"Castle shot someone?" Beckett asked shocked.

"A lot of someones. His record is amazing so far. By my count he's shot… what like 11 people already. They might start calling him Trigger Rick. You don't know? Rick is doing a crazy good job so far." Jordan said smiling proudly.

"Our boy is crushing it as an agent." Esposito said fist bumping Ryan.

"So who ended up being your killer?" Ryan asked.

"Robert Gates, retired from Manhattan North division. We found the bloody car in his garage and the gun in his house." She said.

"You tracked a killer cop?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah, Rick called him the 9mm John. He was killing hookers and dumping them." Jordan said confused. "You should know all this, one of the victims was your case. Mary Ribinowts. Russian hooker found in a dumpster." Jordan said.

"You're kidding me, Castle solved one of my cold cases?" Beckett asked looking livid.

"Yeah, we gave him a copy of the case file, and he connected it to a bunch of other Jane Doe's." Esposito said shrugging.

"The case I put into the cold box was a Serial killer?" Beckett asked shocked.

"A real nasty piece of work too. He killed 9 girls before we got him this morning. That reminds me, can you guys tell Lanie, her ballistics match was one of the keys to figuring it all out." Jordan said with a smile but on the inside she was smirking. She just added fuel to the fire in Beckett's eyes.

"LANIE!? Castle called Lanie?" Beckett asked turning red.

"Yes, he added her to the FBI M.E. list, she's going to work every case we get in the city. Rick said she was the best, and he only works with the best. The best agents, the best Medical Examiners, and the best cops." Jordan said gesturing to Ryan and Esposito.

Beckett got the barb in that last comment but she was too pissed off at Lanie to even register the insult. "I Have to go kill my friend." She said walking to the elevators.

"Damn Jordan, did you really have to do that?" Esposito asked smirking.

"Yeah, it's fun for you but after you leave we still have to work with her." Ryan said.

"Sorry boys, she pissed me off too much to let it slide. What are you working on anyways didn't you gust solve a case?" Jordan asked walking up to the white board.

"We got a second story robbery gone bad. It looks like our guy clamed the drain pipe, and smashed the widow in the bedroom expecting no one to be home. That's when our vic got up and pulled the gun from his nightstand to scare the guy. We think they struggled for the gun and our guy shot our vic." Esposito said showing her the photos.

"I can follow that except that window was broken from the inside. See, almost no glass on the floor, and if you look really close here at this photo you can see a spec of blood. The more likely way it went down was your killer came in with a key, and tried to kill your vic but the vic pulled a gun. When your killer went for the gun they fought and your vic pushed your killer through the window. That's when things crazy on the floor. Your killer took the gun and shot your vic before tossing the gun on the ground. See, no burns from a close GSW? Your killer was standing over your vic when he shot him. This was a hit boys, done by a guy you hire, and not a very good one. Did the vic have money, or life insurance, something like that?" Jordan asked looking over the timeline.

"This apartment is on the upper west side, this guy was loaded." Esposito said looking shocked.

"I'd do two things, check the alley for the broken glass from the window, it might have blood on it and check into your vic's next of kin to see which one is hard up for money." She said "And your timeline is all off, your killer took a few things from around the house first, not after. A gun shot in the middle of the night in that neighborhood will get a call to 911 quick, and Dispatch responds very fast to that neighborhood. You're looking at a window of about ten minutes, not a half hour." Jordan said drawing a new time line under Beckett's as she spoke.

"We'll get on that right away. Thanks Jordan. If we're not tied up in this all night we'll swing by later to visit Castle." Esposito said grabbing his coat off the chair. "Come on, lets go." He said.

"I'll walk you guys out." She said getting in the elevator with them.

A few minutes later Beckett stepped off the elevator steaming mad. She just got a dressing down by Lanie and she was pretty sure she deserved it. That didn't make it better, it made her more angry. When she saw the second time line in a woman's hand writing she yelled and kicked Castle's chair breaking her heel. "FUCK!" She yelled throwing her shoe at the board in rage.

"BECKETT!" The Captain yelled from the doorway of his office. "Get in this office right now!" He said.

She pulled off her other shoe and walked barefoot into his office and sat down. She was still red faced and breathing heavy. "What?" She asked in a huff.

"Don't you what me. You don't have the right to smart mouth me right now. Ever since you came back from your drinking binge you've been slipping. Are you still drinking? Is that it?" He asked.

"I'm dead sober." She said looking indignant.

"Then there is no excuse for your behavior! Castle's gone! You pushed the man away until he walked out. Now suck it up and get back to work or I'll bench your ass until you get your head on straight!" He said.

"I'm working now!" She said slamming her hand down on his desk.

"Really? Because so far the only cases getting solved by your team are the ones getting solved by the Feds!" He said really getting angry now.

"What do you want from me!?" She yelled. "You expect me to solve every case? You don't demand that from your other detectives! It's bullshit to expect more from me then any other detectives in this building!" She said standing up.

"Sit your skinny ass down!" He yelled pointing to the chair with a look in his eyes she never saw before. When she was seated Roy took a calming breath. "I expect more from you because I know you can do more. I give you two of the best, and hardest working detectives I've got. I give you the most freedom to push for leads. I even let you file for blanket warrants for people that you're not even sure is your killer. I expect more from you because I know you can give me more. A month ago your record was flawless, today I don't know if I can trust you to work a crime scene. So I'll say it again. Either you get back to work or I'll bench you and make Esposito the lead detective on your team. Unlike you he doesn't care where the leads come from as long as he catches killers." Roy said looking disappointed.

"I… I don't know if I have it anymore." She said looking like she might lose it.

"What do you mean have it? Have what? You're a detective, go detect." He said smiling.

"I don't know if I can do it with out Castle. It took some getting used to but after a while I got used to having him around to bounce idea's off." She said.

"Then come to me. Bounce your idea off of me." Roy said.

"It's more then that. Now that he's gone I'm starting to realize he was a lot smarter then he let on. I always thought I was so much smarter then him, but now that he's not here. I miss his ideas. His imagination. His way of looking at a crime scene and thinking up all the possible ways things could have happened, and then turn to us and tell a story. Some times it was way out there but then, sometimes he's right on the money. Work was work for me, until I met him, and then it was…" She trailed off.

"fun?" Roy asked smiling.

"Exciting is a better way of saying it. He made it less like work and more like a game. A puzzle. And he was there the whole time helping me solve it. Talking it out with me. Brainstorming ideas. Flirting with words. It was like dancing. And the thought of him doing that with her. Jordan Fucking Shaw! It makes my skin crawl. every time I see her I want to tackle her to the floor and claw out her eyes." She said clinching her fists.

"And when do you think you'll stop obsessing over the fact that Castle is working for her?" Roy asked.

"I don't know. Why?" She asked looking up at him.

"So I know when I can trust you with a real case again. Because until you let go of all the heat and anger in your heart you're not going to think clearly enough to work a case." He said.

"I can work a case. You just can't expect me to get them all." She said sadly.

"That's what I have Castle for. He's running a team of Jr. agents. He's teaching them how to work a crime scene. If you can't solve one I'll hand it off to him and have him solve it." Roy said to see what her reaction was.

"If you trust Castle so much then why don't you have him work the cases? Why bother even calling me?" She asked coldly.

"What do you think I was saying when I said I'd make Esposito head detective? When he gets a case who do you think his first call is going to be? You see I can't call Rick when we get a new case because it would look bad if I called the Feds every time a body dropped in the city, but I can put Esposito in charge of the case and he can get Castle for the price of a phone call, and you know he'd work the case for fun. I've seen him tare apart the Connelly murder in ten minutes. The only reason he's a Fed right now was because you couldn't control your boy toy. He'd still be working cases for us if not for the fact that your boyfriend started some shit he couldn't finish. Rick would still be here for free I might add. I don't have to pay for him, the man paid us in free shit. But no, it wasn't enough to push him away you had to call Demming up here that day when you knew Castle was on edge. You knew something was going to happen and you let it play out. So now I'm going to ask you again. When do you think you can get your head out of your ass because I'd like to know who to call when we get a new case." Roy said looking at her honestly.

Kate was stunned, she didn't know what to say. "I… are you serious?" She asked shocked.

"Look I've always protected you, shielded you from the press, and the angry powerful people you piss off on a daylily basses, but if I can't trust you to do your job then I don't see a point in sugar coating things any more. Kate you rub people the wrong way. You're blunt and cold and just plane mean to people when you're working a case. Do you have any idea how many complaints I've gotten over the years about you? How many times Rick had to call the Mayor because you pissed off some rich guy? What do you think I do all day in this office? So answer the question, when do you think you'll be over the fact that Rick moved on to a better partner? Because if its not any time soon you can go back to binge drinking at home. Because, so far, you've just slowed the process down." Roy said coldly.

"You really think so little of me?" She asked shocked.

"No, you think so little of yourself. Now if your done throwing a temper tantrum like a little kid then maybe you can get your head out of your ass and get back to work. Ryan and Esposito should be back soon with good leads, ones provided by someone who cares about solving cases. Help them work the case or go home. The choice is yours, but you better make it fast. Because if I see you kick that chair out there one more time then I'll suspend you. The man spent three years of his life working with you, and he didn't do a damn thing to you. So don't kick the man's chair." Roy said pointing to the door.

Beckett sat there for a minute thinking about everything he said. The truth he let spill. Was she even the cop that she thought she was? Was she ever? In the minute her mind was full of confusion. Up was down. Black was white and she was afraid of trying to think too hard about what he just told her. She needed to see Castle but she was afraid of him refusing to see her. Afraid of what he might say. Of what he might not say. She stood up slowly. "I'll go back to work now. I'm sorry Roy. I'll get my shit together as fast as I can." She said softly.

"Good. I hate to see you like this, and I don't like making things worse for you but the Victims come first in this job. You knew that once, I'm giving you two weeks to figure it out again. At the end of the day it doesn't matter where the leads come from. All that matters is justice. You find it for your victims and the people they leave behind. I don't care if you call the feds in here everyday, as long as it leads to justice I don't give a damn." He said telling her everything she needed to know. She had two weeks to shape up or she would be shipped out.

"Understood Sir." She said padding barefoot out to her desk. She pulled open the bottom draw, pulled out her running shoes, and put them on. She picked up her broken heels and tossed them in the draw. She looked down at Castle's chair laying tipped over on it's side and felt guilty. She was so angry, at him, at her guys for going to him, at herself for not taking the help he was offering her even though he didn't work with them anymore. She bent over and picked up his chair. But she didn't put it back by the side of her desk. She put it in front of the white board and sat in it. As she sank down into the soft and well warn leather she felt comfortable for the first time since he left. She ran her hands over the leather wrapped arms and felt calm. In this one moment she was calm and at peace with the world. She wasn't angry, she wasn't tired, she was just clear. She looked at the time line Jordan made and it all connected in her head. It made so much sense to her she felt stupid for not thinking of it herself, but instead of getting angry she smiled sadly and patted the arm rest. "Thank you Castle." She said softly with a smile.

Esposito was talking to Ryan as he walked over but he stopped when he saw her sitting in Castle's chair. He was going to say something but when he saw the look on her face he smiled. "He did it bro, and he's not even here." He said pointing to her.

"Good, let's get back to work." Ryan said.

"Hey Boss. We have a new lead. We found glass in the alley from the broken window. It had some blood on it so we sent it down to Lanie. She should get back to us in a few hours." Esposito said.

"Good, I've been looking at this time line and it's dead on. I see it now. We should start looking into the kids. Our vic has three daughters. I think we should pull their files and.." She trailed off when Ryan handed her the three files. "Thank you. You guys have been keeping things moving while I was stuck in a tailspin. I'm not saying I'm back fully, but I'm here to help. So what did you guys find out?" She asked smiling up at the two from her, no, from Castle's chair.

"All three are in some kind of financial trouble, but my money's on the oldest daughter. She's deep in the hole and recently divorced. She need the pay out more then anyone." Esposito said.

"And I agree, she looks good for it. She has just enough to hire a guy to off daddy." Ryan said.

"Okay boys, we work it out until we get somewhere." She said standing up. She drug Castle's chair to her desk rolled her chair to the side of her desk. "Start with her bank records, see if she made any cash withdraws. I'll look over the files and see if there's anything else." She said sitting back in his chair.

"Right Boss." Ryan said.

Esposito sat in her rolling chair next to her desk. "You know he's just a call away. If you treat him with respect he'll be happy to help." He said. "So is she. Hell his whole team is full of good people. They don't treat us any different because were cops. They threat us with respect because we've been working cases longer then them." He said smiling.

"I know, and I'll be happy to call if we get stuck again. But we have two good leads now. Lets run them down and get a win. I need it, and I know you need it too. I've been so caught up in hate I need a good win to bring me back. Let's get this one and work the next one." She said smiling.

"Damn right Boss. Let's do this." Esposito said excitedly.

"And Espo, when you go see him later ask him if he'll see me. I need to talk to him." She said.

"Will do Boss, you're not going to fight again right?" Espo asked.

"No, I'm apologizing." She said.

Jordan walked into the bullpen and saw it was empty. Good, she thought. Some peace. She walked into Ken's office and sat in front of him.

"How is he?" Ken asked looking tired.

"Good, he should be getting out in time for us to head up to his house in the Hamptons. We're leaving Friday and we should be back on Tuesday." She said setting the box on his desk. "He wanted to give you this for helping him on the case." She said.

"I didn't do a damn thing. You guys did all the work." Ken said looking at the gift wrapped box with a card that said Ken on top.

"I think it has more to do with the fact you believed in him to lead the investigation. That was a big confidence booster for him. You also know how he is. He's sentimental about things. His first big win needs to be celebrated." She said smiling.

"I guess." Ken said pulling the card off. He laughed. "It says, Ken, if you're going to come out of the office on cases with me you better be carrying something good. He signed it your best Jr. Agent, Rick. He's getting cocky, I like it. All good agents should have a bit of a chip on their shoulder." Ken said pulling the wrapping off his X-FIVE. "That's not a gun, it's a canon." He said pulling the booklet out. "This is really nice. Sam's going to be jealous." He said smiling.

"How did the questioning go?" She asked.

"Good, he confessed hoping to not get maximum security prison time in this state. It seams he doesn't want to share a cell whit someone he put away." Ken said smirking.

"I can see that. I wouldn't want to share a cell with any of the killers I put away." She said nodding.

"I talked to the DA's office. It looks like he's going to spend the rest of his life in prison. All things considered it was a good win. It sucks he wasn't there for the arrest. You always remember your first big win." Ken said nostalgically.

"The Long Island Lady Killer. Remember him from ten years ago?" She said smiling.

"I do. Two weeks of hard work and a list of suspect a mile long. I knew you were the best even back then." He said.

"I'm not the best, I worked for the best and I'm not you. Not yet, but one day I'll be as good as you old timer. Now I'm headed to my office to sleep. Wake me if something happens." She said standing up.

"I will, have a good nap, you've earned it." He said as she walked out.

Rick drifted back to the land of the living slowly. His chest was killing him and he was still loopy from the drugs. The room was dark and he could just make out a person sitting next to him on a chair. "Jordan?" He asked.

"I'm here Rick." She said hovering over him. She kissed him and smiled. "How do you feel?" She asked.

"Like I've been hit by a car." He groaned.

"Good, maybe this we teach you not to get shot. The last two times didn't." She said smiling.

"Sure, laugh at the guy in the hospital bed." He groaned out.

"I'm going to get the doctor and then you can start seeing visitors." She said.

"Who?" Rick asked.

"Peter and Elizabeth, Neal and Sara, Will and Mike, and Esposito and Ryan are all here." She said.

"Okay, but just a few minutes. Then I need to sleep." He said feeling the drugs make there way through his body.

"I'll go get the doctor." She said rushing out of the room.

She came back with the same doctor that stitched up his gun shot wound on his side. "Good to see you again Agent Castle. You know I have office hours, if you wanted to visit all you have to do is stop by. You don't need to get shot." He said smiling.

"That's funny doc. So how bad is it this time? Am I dieing?" Rick asked.

"No, in fact this time was a lot better then last time. You had a small hole in your right lung and three broken ribs. We rest you ribs and stitched up the hole. You have three small incisions in your chest from the surgery and they should be healed up in a fey days. Your ribs will hurt for a few weeks, and if you ever want to breath like a normal person I'd try very hard not to get shot for the next three months. Your ribs need that long to heal fully. On the up side they should end up stronger then they were so when you do get shot next time they should just bruise and not break, and lets face it Agent you will get shot again. You have some of the worst luck I've ever seen." The doctor said as he check his bandages and his IV line.

"I think you're right Doc." Rick said smiling.

"I'd prescribe desk duty but I know you'll just ignore me so for now just try to rest as much as you can." The doctor said as he walked out.

"Don't worry Doc, we'll chain him to a desk if we have to. There are twelve agents plotting ways to keep him from getting shot as we speak." Jordan said smiling.

"They're plotting against me are they?" Rick asked laughing softly.

"Will and Mike are the worst. They don't want to leave your side." She said.

"My boys. I knew I picked right." Rick said. "Can you send them in first?" He asked.

"Sure, you want me to stay?" She asked.

"If you stay how can we talk about you behind your back?" Rick asked smirking.

"Talk about me? How dare you." She said laughing.

"Just send in my guys." Rick said laughing too. She walked out and Will, and mike walked in. "My guys, how we doing tonight?" He asked as they took seats next to his bed.

"Good Boss." Will said looking down. "Sorry you got shot again. We're supposed to have your back." He said.

"Hey, chin up Will, you had my back today just like I knew you would. It's my own fault for getting shot. But you two did great. You're my team. Out of all the agents I knew I could count on you two the most. Now I'm going to be out for the next few days. I want you to get all the teams together tomorrow morning and study for the test. Aside from that watch Jordan's back for me. I doubt she'll catch a case but if she does you two are no more then three steps away from her at all times. I'm counting on you guys. Now go home and get some sleep. You two look dead." He said holding out his hand.

"Yes Boss." Will said shaking his hand.

"I'll call the teams and let them know about the study session tomorrow." Mike said shaking his hand.

"Good, now go send in your counter parts. Espo, and Ryan." Rick said.

"Yes Boss." Will said laughing.

Ryan and Esposito walked in talking. "Hey Castle, are you racking up frequent staying points?" Esposito asked.

"Yeah Castle there are easier ways to get attention you know?" Ryan asaid.

"Yuck it up boys, I'm glad my pain amuses you." Rick said smiling. "Did she drop off the gifts?" He asked.

"You mean these?" Esposito asked holding up his new gun. "Yeah she stopped by earlier. She also helped us with a case. You FBI guys love solving our cases for us." He said.

"I bet Beckett took it well." Rick said smirking.

"I heard from Karpowski that she took one look at the new timeline Jordan made and kicked your chair hard enough to break a heel. She then threw her shoe at the white board. She got her ass chewed out by the Captain after that and when we got back she was almost back to her old self. She was sitting in your chair smiling." Esposito said.

"It's not my chair guys, but I'm glad she's getting out of this funk she's in." Rick said.

"It is your chair. It will always be your chair. We were going to steal it for you until we saw how calm she looked sitting in it." Ryan said smiling.

"Yeah bro, it was like she was channeling you. It was weird but nice. She even asked us if you would be willing to see her so she could apologize." Espo said.

"Sure, I hold no grudge. I love working with you guys and if your will \ing I'd love to bring my team out to watch you guys work. We don't get too many crime scenes at work. We don't even need to butt in on your case I just want them to see how a well oiled team runs." Rick said.

"I'm cool with that. I like your guys, they seam like a good group. Especially Will and Mike those two guys can shadow us anytime. I like the fact that they look up to us. It's new. Not a lot of love is shown for the support team. Most of the time people want to learn what Beckett does." Espo said.

"You two work harder then Beckett sometimes. Lead investigators need a good team to do all the work so we can stay in our heads all day. It's why I picked those two. They reminded me of you guys. I want what Beckett has, two of the most reliable guys on the force. Those two are feeling kind of low about me getting hurt. I was wandering if you wouldn't mind taking them out tomorrow night?" Rick asked.

"Sure Castle. We'll take them out and get them hammered." Ryan said.

"Thanks guys. The more they act like you two the better my life will be. And if Beckett wants to come tell her I'll be here all week. She can drop by anytime." He said.

"Good, we'll see you tomorrow. Do you want us to bring you something?" Espo asked standing up.

"No, taking my guys out is more then enough. Thanks, I'll see if I can get you guys and my team in to the Mayor's private box at Yankee stadium this weekend." He said.

"Thanks Castle. You're the best!" Ryan said.

"Yeah bro, thanks." Espo said.

"I owe you guys, besides the Mayor is going to be in the Hamptons this weekend. I'll make some calls. Have fun." He said "Send in the next group. I'm fading fast here." Rick said.

Neal and Sara walked in. "Hey Rick, how are you doing?" Neal asked looking guilty.

"What's with the guilty look for?" Rick asked. "You didn't lose my gun and my shield did you?" Rick asked looking panicked.

"No, I have those at the apartment. I'll bring them back when they let you out." Neal said.

"Thank God. You had me worried for a second. If you didn't lose my stuff then why do you look like that? We got Adler today. You should be ecstatic. Did you tell Sara how you saved my life?" Rick asked turning to Sara. "He totally did. I walked right into a wall of bullets. I was on the ground trying to get my gun up when Neal rolled around the corner like an action hero and dropped Adler where he stood. He's going to earn a Badge of his own one day. I just know it. You should be very proud of him." Rick said smiling.

"You got shot! Twice! All for my revenge! You can spin it anyway you like but I got you shot twice in one week." Neal said.

"It's part of the job Neal. Being a good guy is more dangerous then being a bad guy. You should know that now. It's why we wear vests, and carry guns. If this was a harmless job we wouldn't need those things. Now calm down and relax. Pain fades, wounds heal, and chicks love scares. You know how much sex I'm going to get out of this? About as much as you did I suppose." Rick said making Sara blush. "Did he walk into the house in his vest and gun?" Rick asked smiling.

"He did, it was hot." She said smiling.

"And he stressed how I didn't get him into a gun fight, it just happened right?" Rick asked.

"He did, in fact he was very adamant about that fact, So adamant that I'm starting to think he was lying." She said with an edge to her voice.

"Damn it Neal you had two jobs. Take care of my things and make sure she's not mad at me. Some partner you are." Rick said.

"Would all of you stop saying Sara is scary, she's not scary. You have nothing to fear." Neal said laughing.

"Sara, kindly tell him you have more then a passing knowledge of what it feels like to shatter someone's knee caps." Rick said smirking.

"Well…" She said looking everywhere but in Neal's direction.

"You do?" Neal asked looking scared.

"It was in self defense." She said.

"Wow, and I thought I was the bad one in this relationship." Neal said looking at her with a new level of respect.

"I told you she's a wild cat. Beautiful and deadly. You got yourself a good woman Neal. She looks good in a dress and she can fight your battles for you. Why do you think I'm attracted to Jordan?" Rick said.

"That has to be the most backwards complement I've ever been given." She said smiling.

"It's all true. Now what are you two kids doing standing around a hospital for? Go out, have some dinner, have wild young person sex in every room in the house. Go, have fun. Celebrate the win Neal, always celebrate the win. If you do you'll never go back to being a bad guy. The victory isn't as sweet. And you make him celebrate Sara. Make him take you to a nice place, he just made a bunch of money Saturday night and he hasn't had a chance to spend it yet." Rick said.

"I think I will. There's this nice place by the park that just opened up." She said bending over to hug Rick. "Thanks Rick he's been in a funk all day." She said.

"Glad I could help. You ladies are still on for tomorrow right?" Rick asked. "Dress fittings at Jane's shop. Anything in the shop is on me. Go crazy Ladies. It's bad enough you guys have to put up with us guys, you should at least get nice things in return." Rick said.

"I think that's a great idea." She said excitedly.

"Good, now out you get, send in the Burkes on you way out." He said. Sara walked out and Neal shook his hand. "Neal, you have to relax my young friend. You can't take life too seriously. You have a great girl, enjoy it. Enjoy life. I'm going to get us in enough trouble, you don't have to worry about the trouble you think you caused me. I'll more then make up for it later." He said smirking.

"I'll bring your things for you when they release you." Neal said smiling.

"I knew I could count on you. Now get out of here. We got shot at, go live it up." He said pushing him out the door.

Peter and Elizabeth came in last with Jordan. "How are you doing Rick?" Elle asked touching his cheek.

"I'm fine the pain meds are great. Do I smell baked goods?" Rick asked sniffing the air.

"I made you cookies. Salted caramel and cashews." She said handing his a plastic bin full of cookies.

"If I didn't have Jordan and I though I had any kind of shot with you I'd steal you away from Peter." Rick said biting a cookie. "I think I still might try." Rick said savoring his cookie.

"Hey, you keep your hands off my wife!" Peter said laughing.

"We all like to think we married up but damn it man you hit the power ball with this lovely lady. Forget painting I'll give you a piece of Carrie's place if you start cooking there." Rick said.

"I'll stick to art thank you very much." Elle said laughing.

"Fine, but I still get to come over for dinner right?" He asked like a little kid.

"Yes you can come over for dinner." She said patting him on the head.

"And what about you? She brought cookies what did you bring?" Rick asked Peter.

"I brought her." He said holding Elle.

"Good enough for me. Can I ask you guys something? Take this one home with you guys. She's been up for two days, she probably hasn't eaten anything good, and she's planning on going back to her place where the fridge is empty. She's also stressed out about lying to the girls. So take her with you. Feed her and talk to her. She'll fight you but don't let her." Rick said pointing to Jordan.

"I was not going to go back to my place. I was going to go to yours." She said looking indignant.

"To be alone." Rick said.

"You're going to be alone too, I was thinking about sitting with you." She said.

"I'm going to be knocked out in a few minutes. I won't know I'm alive let alone my name and the fact that you're sitting here with me. So go home with them and get some rest. Eat some of Elle's cooking, kill a few bottles of wine, and get a good night's sleep. You can spend all day with me tomorrow if you want." Rick said as his eyes started to droop.

"Fine, but only because you made it sound really good." Jordan said.

"Peter, how was the shooting reported?" Rick asked.

"Just like you said. We even took a photo of your gun on the ground." Peter said.

"Good. Neal saved my life today, he doesn't need to get in trouble for it. If you get any new cases bring the teams in to help and they'll get me copies of the files, just because I'm stuck in here doesn't mean my brain stopped working. Three days with out a good case will drive me up the wall so don't hesitate to bring me stuff." Rick said smiling.

"You know we were doing pretty good before you get here I think we can handle w few days without your help." Peter said laughing.

"It's not for us it's for the teams, they need all the practice they can get. They're good now but if we keep pushing them they can be great. Plus Melissa's team wants to work in white collar. The faster they get used to you, the better." Rick said.

"Okay, I'll talk to them. Now you get some rest. You look like you've been shot." Peter said laughing.

"It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt." Rick said picking up the pain button. "See you guys later, Elle thanks for the cookies, and for coming to see me. Peter bring anything you get in the next three days. As for you, I love you." He said to Jordan.

She bent over him and kissed him. "I love you too. Now get some rest. I'll come by in the morning." She said.

"See you in the morning." He said hitting the button. "Wow this stuff is good." he muttered as his eyes rolled back in his head.

The next morning Jordan came into his room and found Kate Beckett sitting in a chair by his bed with a soft smile on her face. "Hey Jordan, I hope you don't mind me sitting here?" She asked softly.

"No, I don't mind at all. I'm just shocked to see you." Jordan said sitting next to her.

"I would be shocked to if yesterday was any indication of where my head was, but last night I had this… epiphany. For weeks now I've been in this constant loop of failure and anger since he left. I couldn't get my head on straight. I was so mad. Mad at him for leaving. Mad at myself for letting him go. Mad at myself for failing to solve a case. Mad at him for solving my cases for me. I kicked his chair more then a few times. Then last night the Captain sat me down and reminded me what my job is. My job is Justus. I find it for my victims and their families. I picked up his chair and sat in it and felt… comfort. Rick is many things. Annoying, and playful, and a total smart ass, but more then anything he's comforting. When all your leads turn to dust he's there to tell you we'll find something else. When you work a truly horrifying crime scene he's there to look you in the eye and tell you only monsters would do something like that. He's the best cheerleader I've ever had in my life, and the thought of working a case without him was so scary I ended up tanking cases. Sitting in his chair reminded me of him. Of what a good investigator he was. About how much fun we had working cases together. The back and forth of ideas. The boys are good but they're not Castle. No one is as fast as he is. That's when I remembered he's not gone, he's just working somewhere else. He's only a phone call away. That's if he'll except my phone calls. For now I just hope he'll excepts my apology." Kate said smiling softly.

"I do." Rick said turning his head to look at them.

"You heard all of that?" Kate asked blushing.

"I did, and it explains so much about your attitude these past few weeks. I was confused about your arrest record. You were one of the best investigators I've ever met, why the hell were you dropping easy cases? I fingered you were still hurting from our last fight. I took your cases on just to give you time to heal, I had no idea I was making things worse. Sorry about that. I'm also sorry for the things I said Saturday night on the ride home after I handed over the warrant." He said with a smile.

"What did you say? You know what? I don't want to know. It was probably about the same kind of stuff I was saying when I was kicking your chair." She said smiling back.

"I'm glad you two made up, it's not right for partners to fight like you two did. You two worked some really good cases together. I've read your file remember. I hope you guys can work together in the future. You know we're just a few blocks away and we're always happy to look at any case you have. Most days we sit around board." Jordan said smiling.

"That brings me to you." Kate said. "I need to thank you for yesterday. You're time line was perfect, and you've been nothing but nice to me, except for yesterday. You poured fuel on the fire yesterday, but it ended up getting me to rock bottom so in a way, thank you." Kate said.

"I think we need to move passed all of this. The fights, the name calling, and the jealousy. We are all adults, some of us are more grown up then others." Jordan said and Kate looked red. "I'm talking about me and you Kate, Rick is twelve. As adults you two need to make peace with the fact that you missed your chance with him and he gave up just a little bit too soon. As outside observers Tom and I cashed in on that fact. I got him, you got Tom. One of us did better then the other but we both did well." Jordan said smiling.

"What do you mean?" Kate asked.

"Well this is going to last." She said holding Rick's hand.

"And Tom and I are not?" Kate asked looking angry.

"look, I have no skin in the game. I don't care if your relationship works or not. I mean I like you enough to care if you get hurt, but it doesn't effect me one bit if your happily married in a year or single next week. I'm just giving you my honest opinion as a profiler, and a woman. You boyfriend is a cheater." Jordan said.

"How the hell can you say that, you only met him once? Is this something he said?" Kate asked pointing to Rick.

"No, this is all based on the look in his eye when he met me. It has nothing to do with you at all. It's in his DNA to cheat. He looks at every woman as a potential sex partner. That's nothing because every guy does that, even Rick here. But his confidence and his appearance means he's had his pick of the litter for a long time and his job as a detective make him more likely to cheat. It all comes together to paint a very bleak picture. If things start to turn bad I'd get out before you get hurt." Jordan said calmly.

"How the hell can you be so sure?" Kate asked looking shocked. Everyone so far had told her that Tom was a cheater but it was Jordan's frank explanation that really rocked her foundation.

"Because I married a cheater. Everyone told me he was a bad guy, but I got knocked up so fast, we got married really quick and our jobs kept us busy. Five years in I knew he was banging his paralegal. We went to counseling, and he stopped for a while. Ten years in I caught him banging the nanny. We agreed to counseling again. At this point I didn't even care anymore. I was staying together for my daughter. I buried myself in work and kept going. When I stopped caring he stopped cheating. Things were good for a time. Until he got his 23 year assistant pregnant. Then he divorced me, cleaned me out, and took my house. When I tell you you're boyfriend is a cheater I speak from experience. Take my advice. Don't take my advice, but if he starts flaking on you don't assume it's work." Jordan said shocking Kate to her core.

"I don't know what to say." Kate said.

"Don't say anything. If things don't work out there are a few agents in my office that are young and unmarried I can set you up with." Jordan said. "I'll only say this once though and I'll leave it be. If you ever try anything with Rick, he won't go for it no mater what you do or say, and then I'll kill you and dump the body." Jordan said smiling.

"I wouldn't…" Kate started to say but Jordan cut her off.

"Yes, you would. Any woman with half a brain would. Especially after a bad break up." Jordan said.

"It's true Kate." Rick said.

"Now lets bring this conversation back on to a better topic." Jordan said grabbing her bag. "As your supervising agent it is my extreme pleasure to give you all four FBI medals. There will be an official awards ceremony on Friday, but the director thought I should hand them over to you now. First you got the FBI star for being shot in the alley by the pop and drop crew." Jordan said handing him the display case.

"Wow totally worth getting shot." Rick said showing Kate his new medal.

"Then there's the Medal for Meritorious Achievement for your quick thinking and deceive action in saving that store clerk on your first day." She said.

"Wow, this is awesome." Rick said.

"Not as awesome as the FBI Shield of Bravery. For tracking down and later protecting ex-OPR agent Garret Fowler during a gun fight with six hit men armed with assault weapons." Jordan said handing him the box.

"Would you look at that. It was totally worth killing Black Betty for this bad boy." Rick said.

"Black Betty? And you were in a gun fight with six guys with assault weapons? When the hell was this?" Kate asked looking shocked. She knew about the first two but this was news to her.

"Sunday. Wow was that really only Sunday?" Rick asked.

"It was. For your work yesterday you got the FBI Medal for Valor. You got this for finding, planning, and leading the assault on wanted fugitive Vincent Adler." She said beaming as she handed the fourth medal over. "You have, in one week as an agent, earned all FOUR Commendations awarded to FBI field agents. I couldn't be more proud of you." She said.

"Has it really only been one week?" Rick asked looking at his four medals.

"I was called into the office on Tuesday, and you started the day after that at 9AM Wednesday. Seven days ago. So happy one week anniversary. In one week of active duty you shot 9 people. You made five arrests, solved one white collar case, two cases for Kate's team and you found a serial killer. Am I missing anything?" Jordan asked.

"I shot 10 people, you forgot Adler is on my record. Of those 10 I killed 8 of them. I funded a con man in a back room poker game. I aided in the delivery of stolen goods to a insurance investigator's house, a house I helped break into. I used CIA resources to make two of those arrests, and finely I killed a beautiful car with less then a thousand miles on it. I was also shot five times and ended up in the hospital twice. I also bribed a judge to get Kate a warrant Saturday night." Rick said thinking of all the shit he did in one week.

"Not bad for your first week, in my first week I spilled coffee on Ken, and dropped my gun trying to draw it for my range test. It hit the floor, and fired almost shooting me in the leg." Jordan said laughing.

"I tripped down a flight of stairs and split my forehead open, I needed 22 stitches and I can't part my hair to the left." Kate said laughing too.

"So I did better then you two?" Rick asked holding up his four medals.

"A hell of a lot better Castle. I'm just glad I'm here to see it." Kate said touching his hand.

"I'm just glad I'm not dead." Rick said shaking his head.

"Well, now that you have all the medals do you think you can take things slower?" Jordan asked.

"We'll have to wait and see. I don't think I can do any worse then getting shot five times in one week." Rick said laughing.

EPOLUGE

Jordan looked across the table at her uncle who sat book ended by to OPR agents she didn't know. She looked at her side of the table. She was on the end. Peter was next to her. To his left was Diana. Sitting next to her was Jones, and at the end was Kate Beckett. Her uncle started the tape recorder. "This OPR hearing is in regards to the incident that occurred two days ago on December 20, 2012. The incident in question is the robbing of the first national bank of New York by Confidential Informant Neal Caffrey, and Jr. Agent Richard Castle." Sam said.

Jordan shook her head and sighed, Rick just had to play Super Agent. She thought.


End file.
